Drama of the teen years

Grief-STRICKEN and confused over the death of her boyfriend, Amy Abbott turns from star high school swimmer and excellent student on “Everwood” to a basket case who needs antidepressants, leaves home and becomes sexually active to rebel against her father.

On “One Tree Hill,” Lucas and Nathan Scott are half-brothers who have little in common except that they share a love for basketball and a self-centered father who has never acknowledged the former and tries to control the latter’s every move.

A high school junior who follows her best friend’s lead on “American Dreams,” Meg Pryor thrives on acting older than she is even if it means lying to her parents so that she can date a college boy.

Like Meg, Joan Girardi struggles with low self-esteem and desperately wants to be accepted in her new high school on “Joan of Arcadia,” but one thing keeps getting in the way: God.

Gone are the days when television could get away with rendering the angst-ridden adolescent years as the idyllic fantasy of “The Brady Bunch” or the flashy romance of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Network prime-time television now fights with hundreds of cable channels, the Internet and video games for young people’s attention.

And elsewhere on those very networks, unscripted shows are draining young viewers -- the so-called Generation Y of people born since 1979 -- who will soon grow up and become part of the most coveted advertising demographic in television.

“None of the networks can afford to ignore this generation anymore,” says Alan Wurtzel, president of research and media development for NBC. “In 10 years, Generation Y will take their behaviors and look at the world and media in a different way than we do. Generation Y never knew a time when there wasn’t the Internet, or 75 to 100 channels, and music was purchased instead of downloaded. They will take that behavior with them as they get older. If we don’t figure out how to appeal to them, we will all be in trouble.”

One window into the teen world is the reality television phenomenon. While older viewers may be cynical about the genre, not so with younger viewers. And sure enough, television professionals have drawn a powerful lesson from reality TV: To attract the youngest viewers, especially the elusive young males, shows must do a better job of balancing fantasy with realism.

“When reality television sprang up and became so successful, the dramatic arena was threatened by it,” says Mark Schwahn, creator of “One Tree Hill,” the fourth-highest-rated drama among teens. “Producers worked very hard to present a villain, a hero and a tangled web. It reminded networks that there is a demand for that kind of storytelling. It didn’t all have to be cops, lawyers and doctors. Teenagers will sit through a drama if they are interested in the characters and the issues are relevant. In 2004, we have to tell the stories that matter. Things like cheerleading seem a little dated these days.”

The result has been a slew of drama series in which the emphasis is on the heartaches and hormones that are a real part of teens’ lives. Schwahn’s freshman show, for instance, pushes the ageless conflicts surrounding losing one’s virginity into the contemporary realm by adding the temptation and availability of Internet porn, and a doctor on “Everwood” operates on a teenage girl whose breast implant ruptures.

Thus far, however, the intent hasn’t translated into stellar numbers. The WB’s “Everwood” and “One Tree Hill” do better than the other dramas spotlighting teen angst, with a growing teen following estimated at 605,000 and 739,000 teen viewers respectively -- still small in Nielsen Media Research’s teen demographic, estimated at just under 25 million viewers. Two other shows populated with teens and their growing pains, “Joan of Arcadia” and “American Dreams,” do not even garner a million teen viewers combined. Instead, the clear favorite for 12- to 17-year-olds (and a significant number of young adults too) is the least realistic of the lot. Fox’s witty, escapist drama “The O.C.,” set in Newport Beach, has drawn an average of 1.6 million teen viewers, and for the last few weeks beat the Wednesday night results for the mighty “American Idol.” Yet even here, despite the eye candy, at the heart of the show is a troubled young man from the wrong side of the tracks.

“We live in a world now where kids deal with the realities of life at a quicker pace,” says Brian Robbins, executive producer of “One Tree Hill.” “They have access to things we didn’t have access to and because of that they are more sophisticated and they do not want their TV shows sugarcoated.... They can definitely smell a fake.”

It is Amy Abbott’s (played by 17-year-old Emily VanCamp) battle with depression over her boyfriend’s death that keeps 18-year-old Kerry Hammond of Smithville, Ohio, watching “Everwood” in its second season.

“She didn’t get better in two episodes,” says Hammond, who appreciates the small-town sensibility of the fictional Everwood, Colo., because it reminds her of her town of 3,000. “They showed her going on prescription medicine and going through it. I’ve known people who have been depressed like that. The show caught my eye because it’s different.”

This is the reaction “Everwood” creator Greg Berlanti wanted. “We’re always struggling to be as topical as possible in terms of subjects that kids are dealing with,” Berlanti says of his show, ranked 11th among teens. “In our case, if we do a story line right, it should appeal to adults in a nostalgic way and teens in a current way.”

Genesis of the genre

To be sure, other teen ensemble dramas and family dramas have addressed the challenges of adolescence and its many rites of passage. In 1989, Fox launched “90210,” a prime-time soap opera that paved the way for a new genre starring teens and meant for teens. Sure, the gorgeous characters drove glossy cars and lived in fancy homes, but they also struggled with sexual awakening, drugs and alcohol, unplanned pregnancy and date rape, even if the angst only lasted for an episode and they looked like fashionistas while dealing with it.

“These shows are really a reflection of their times,” says Bob Greenblatt, president of entertainment at Showtime Networks, who supervised “90210” and “Party of Five” when he was a programming executive at Fox. Greenblatt also developed the pilot for “Dawson’s Creek,” which aired on the WB for six years. “People may look at ‘90210’ now and say that it’s just a fantasy and that kids didn’t talk like that or do those things. But we dealt with things like Brenda losing her virginity to Dylan. It may have been executed as a soap opera, or superficially, but no show at that time had touched that subject matter. Now, I don’t think there’s anything that’s taboo. In fact, to be successful today, you almost have to throw everything but the kitchen sink in there.”

Greenblatt attributes that to the increased competition for teenagers’ attention. “Now, there are so many things competing for that audience. You have to be right on the cusp with the music, the fashion and the story lines.”

Adding to the challenge is that television is niche-oriented, Wurtzel says. Only three shows on network television draw sizable audiences that include young teens and their grandparents: “CSI,” “Survivor” and “NFL Monday,” says Wurtzel, who has studied the viewing habits of various age groups.

Writers typically make one of two mistakes when drawing teenage characters, says Barbara Hall, the creator of “Joan of Arcadia.” Joan (played by Amber Tamblyn) may have the unique ability to talk to God -- who appears to her in the form of other people she encounters in her life -- but she is as flawed as any other girl her age. In fact, most of the time, Joan does not understand what God is trying to tell her.

“A lot of people who write for teens don’t explore how they really behave,” Hall says. “They mistakenly make them stupid or smarter than they are. While teenagers do have incredible insights every now and then, they are just as capable of being in tune and acute in one minute and insane in another.

“Kids today have a lot of information at their hands but they don’t have the emotional maturity to handle it. Coming of age is still what it is. It’s the same process. The accouterments are different,” she says.

The high school students on “American Dreams,” which is set in 1965, have never heard of cable or the Internet, but their stories feel eerily contemporary. J.J. Pryor, the eldest son played by Will Estes, is a Marine fighting in an unpopular war -- Vietnam; his 16-year-old sister, Meg, played by Brittany Snow, is becoming aware of her own feelings against the war despite the fact that she dances every week on “American Bandstand.”

“I wanted to tell the story of America in its adolescence, and the adolescence of America was in the ‘60s,” says the show’s creator, Jonathan Prince. “It’s a period piece that allows teens to have the fantasy of living back then, but the show also feels ridiculously contemporary in that history in many ways is repeating itself. We have American kids fighting an unpopular war now and these girls are on the first reality show ever, ‘American Bandstand.’ ”

Reality television and the niche cable networks have altered the way the networks create shows for teenagers, says Jordan Levin, co-chief executive officer of the WB.

“Teens have been exposed to and are attracted to shows that have far racier content than any broadcast program,” Levin says. “But that gives you a lot of freedom in how you tell your stories.

“A lot of the shows we do are aspirational. Our viewers aspire to perceive themselves like the characters and work out their issues in the same way. There is a positive outcome that is promised, if not always realized,” he says.

The only way to keep teenagers watching, says Schwahn, is to avoid being hip at all costs.

“If I try to invent slang, I will look silly,” he says. “ ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was successful, but the kids spoke like adults. We try to let the kids on ‘One Tree’ speak like kids and act more human. It’s so infrequent that you have absolute clarity in adolescence -- or in life -- but when you get close, those moments are very rewarding. We try to keep those small moments in our stories, even if they come out clumsy and messy. That makes it more human and can be more fulfilling.”

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“I appreciate the sophomoric normalcy that they write for my character. In Joan’s constant state of vertigo, she is unaware of the importance of God’s messages so she doesn’t treat God as a powerful being but rather as a regular friend. This is part of her self-involvement, and it’s all a very normal part of being that age. At Joan’s age, I was just as self-involved. You’re scared because you don’t know what you want to be or do. It’s all very realistic, and it definitely represents what all teenagers go through.”

Amber Tamblyn, 20

“Joan of Arcadia”

“One of the many purposes of art is to make people feel less alone. In high school, there is so much that we hide. People will respond to stories that strike a chord with them because it makes them feel less alone.”

Jason Ritter, 24

“Joan of Arcadia”

“Everyone wants to be accepted. There are so many Joans out there: Girls are lost and confused and they just want answers. That’s what being a teenager is about, really, and I think that’s what our show is about.”

Michael Welch, 16

“Joan of Arcadia”

“Our writers keep the show as relatable to teens as possible. Of course, there are a lot of hookups and things that are typical of a teen drama. But at the same time, those things are typical of being a teenager.”

James Lafferty, 18

“One Tree Hill”

“I definitely went to high school with people like the ones in the show. I am hoping that our show and shows like ‘American Dreams’ and ‘Everwood’ raise the bar for teens so that they’re not stuck watching music videos and reality television because that’s all there is for them.”

Bethany Joy Lenz, 23

“One Tree Hill”

“Ephram [his character] is going through the gantlet right now. I went through those myself. I still am. There are some things that it doesn’t matter if you’re a teen or you’re in your 40s, you will always deal with in your life. Everybody’s been through heartbreak, and that’s what really resonates I think with his character. Going through it with him really reminded me of high school. It’s not easy, but it sure builds character.”

Gregory Smith, 20

“Everwood”

“There are a lot of TV shows that are on the air now that paint this really false picture of being a young teenager. It paints the picture of having the perfect life and typical love triangles. There’s no real depth to the characters and real people have real depth. Even teenagers. I feel fortunate that I get to play a girl who is not perfect physically or emotionally and that her truth reflects the truth of others.”

Emily VanCamp, 17

“Everwood”

“Teenagers like to watch things for entertainment value so they can be outside of themselves. But they watch other shows because they are going through difficult things like boyfriend troubles or parent troubles or they are depressed. I like that our show shows that we all go through the same things, whether it’s in the ‘60s or today. But I also sure would like to be one of those girls [on “The O.C.”] driving around in a nice car and being beautiful.”

Brittany Snow, 18

“American Dreams”

“When you’re raised in a small town, you’re raised with this fairy-tale look at the world because that’s all your life is inundated with as a small child. Then you get to high school and you experience a bit of the real world and you meet some hard truths. Things don’t always work out for your best interest. That’s what my character [J.J.] is just figuring out [and] I bet there are a lot of kids out there who could relate to that.”

Will Estes, 25

“American Dreams”