Josh Schwartz, creator of Gossip Girl and The O.C., has been the king of teen television dramas for what feels like centuries, and with his new Warner Brothers Web series Rockville, CA, he’s expanding his territory to the Internet.
Viewers may not know what to expect from Rockville, CA, a Web series on the WB Web site (TheWB.com), which now exists primarily as a platform for people to watch full-length episodes of WB classics like Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls.
The structure of the show only adds to the unpredictability of the series. The plot centers around characters who frequent a fictional club called Rockville, and storylines are tangled with live music performances by both established and up-and-coming indie rock bands.
During a phone interview, actor Andrew West, who plays Hunter, one of the protagonists, said that the live performances give background and depth to what some viewers may find to be a somewhat typical teen-oriented drama.
In the Rockville universe, Hunter is the resident music nerd who knows everything about music and never hesitates to share his opinions. His know-it-all personality is checked by Deb (Alexandra Chando), a record label representative.
Hunter may remind viewers of The O.C.’s Seth Cohen, but West is unsure about the comparison. “I’ve never actually seen The O.C.,” he admitted, but he also said that the prospect of being attached to a Schwartz program was a major draw.
According to West, who also had a recurring role on The CW’s Privileged, Hunter and Deb are almost “too alike,” which, in the series, blinds them from seeing how perfect they are for each other.
Instead, they bicker incessantly from the beginning to the end of each episode, though it is clear that they are meant to be together. This predictable pairing could easily get boring, but their chemistry doesn’t fizzle in the Web series format—the short length of each episode ensures that the romance won’t get old for awhile.
Each episode is about six to eight minutes long, but the action of the plot takes up no more than five minutes of each slot.
Live performances on the Rockville stage by bands like The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs, and Phantom Planet complete the short episodes. West stated that the White Lies performance was his favorite, which will be featured on the May 12 season finale.
The performances add legitimacy to the show, making the rock club setting much more believable and much less cliched. It’s almost as if Schwartz wants his viewers to listen to hipper music and is using this series not only to entertain, but also to educate.
On the WB Web site, viewers can watch the eight episodes that have aired so far and can get a free download of The Duke Spirit’s song, “Lassoo.” The site also offers playlists that the characters would like, which conveniently link to iTunes.
Two new episodes are released every Tuesday, and one of this week’s new episodes will feature the local favorite band Bishop Allen, whose members hail from Brooklyn.
Rockville provides an entertaining and relatively guilt-free way for Columbians to distract themselves from their growing pile of homework and update the playlists they’ve been listening to since their first year on campus.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy