Miss The O.C.? Of course you do.
Hot off the heels of The O.C.’s extinction comes Hidden Palms. A like-for-like replacement that looks to capitalise on the void left by the Seth Cohens and Ryan Attwoods.
The CW, an American channel not famous for it’s dramas, has ordered 8 episodes of Hidden Palms, with the pilot episode already being aired. I thought I’d bring this to your attention as there’s a lot of mixed feelings about the programme. Some people are revelling in it’s similarities to our favourite California-based show whereas some simply consider it a rip off.
I say judge for yourself.
The comparisons are fairly obvious. For starters, the cast includes three actors who’ve previously appeared in The O.C. The main character you’ll remember as psycho Oliver Trasck, then Zach from series two and actor Amber Heard also featured in there somewhere. The story is all too familiar as well. Coming from a troubled background, main character Johnny Miller is forced to move into the unfamiliar surroundings of Palm Springs, California. Here he is out of place in a rich society with many secrets – sound familiar?
Add to this an attractive cast, an emphasis on new music whenever and wherever possible and as much teenage angst as you can squeeze in… you have pretty much the exact formula that made The O.C. so successful. It’s no where near as good, I feel compelled to tell you. The characters are very obvious and much less intriguing than what we had in Orange County, but I’m willing to stick with it for it’s first 8 episodes. There are doubts it will be recalled for a second season due to The CW’s unfamiliarity with drama shows, but I’ll follow it nonetheless.
If you would like to give Hidden Palms a shot, click here.
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