Faking It

"Faking It" is, of course, MTV's new scripted teen comedy series, following the unwanted departure of "The Hard Times of RJ Berger" and on the heels of the wildly popular "Awkward." (the best scripted comedy series MTV has put out in the last four years and which I sadly suspect may be on its way off the air and into television oblivion once this new season is up).

Like everything else MTV, "Faking It" is comic, edgy trashiness of the first degree; in the 21st century, comic and edgy trashiness of the first degree is an absolute must for modern television programming, especially when it comes to MTV. And yet, like "Awkward." and "Hard Times," there's something oddly compelling about it, even moving.

Because it's only the first episode, a brief synopsis should be sufficient: life-long best friends - the social-climbing, un-ironically named Karma Ashcroft (Katie Stevens) and her gal-pal, the cynical, straight-laced Amy Raudenfeld (Rita Volk) - are a pair of desperate wannabes looking to fit into their liberal-minded, open and socially accepting Austin, Texas, high school, where even they appear to be outsiders desperately looking to join in on the club.

Before you know it, a series of misunderstandings and innuendos unexpectedly propels both girls into the celebrity limelight, where they are mistakenly "outed" as, and thus decide to pretend to be, lesbians, much to the satisfaction of the openly gay king bee Shane Harvey (Michael Willett), and the detriment of their mutual nemesis and resident mean girl/wannabe queen bee Lauren Cooper (Bailey Buntain), who is also Amy's new step-sister.

My impression from this first episode is that "Faking It" looks quite promising. "Faking It" looks to be an inspired take on the lengths we'll go to "fake it" in order to just fit in, bullying, intolerance, and 21st-century political-correctness. This goes to show that like "Awkward." and "The Hard Times of RJ Berger," and just because it's MTV, it may not be as dumb as it appears to be at first.

To their credit, and to our amazement, "Faking It" looks to do the impossible, and that is to be a scripted MTV teen comedy series that actually says something about our 21st-century perceptions of tolerance and acceptance (that it's even saying something at all is a magical feat in and of itself).

Things are looking good, so far...

8/10

I have only seen the first two episodes right now, but I need to write this.

When I first heard of this show, I was skeptic (and probably rightly so, looking at the description). However, it really only took me one episode to realize this was going to be much better than anticipated! It's definitely not a masterpiece, it's such an obvious MTV-show it's not even funny (good and bad), but it's fun and easy to watch. Also, a show about high school where gay people isn't only there to get bullied and beaten to death is a lovely surprise.

My limited English stops me from writing much more, but I really just wanted to get rid of that terrible homophobic review on the front page that didn't give the show any justice at all.

If you'd like a mix of Awkward and G.B.F. this show is probably ideal for you

Up until recently I was not aware of this show. While I was browsing amazon prime for something to watch, I stumbled onto this show, and I fell in love. Amy and Karma are great characters, characters that you can't help but to root for. And the battle between Shane and Lauren is both funny and charming. The story line is fresh and finally set in a more modern way of thinking. I believe for the most part that this is how high school is now. It was like this even when I left high school 4 years ago. There is absolutely nothing that I don't love about this show. I have watched the first season twice already and I probably watch even more in the time spent waiting for season 2.

Seriously this show is so entertaining! I saw a random fan trailer on youtube and thought I would check it out. I was surprised just how funny this show is.

The gay guy in it just makes it! All the one liners leave me in stitches every time.

I'm long past being a teenager, but this is still very funny!

I wish I went to a school that accepted everyone for being different and actually made those differences cool!

Check it out! Better yet, watch the whole season in one sitting!

p.s all the other characters (including the parents) just add to the awesome nature of this show!

This series is still in its second episode and I find it quite enjoyable, but I don't know whether I should be outraged by it or not.

On one hand, I feel like it could be an attempt at representing the LGBTQIA community (or at least homosexuals) in a show that feels light and portrays an acceptant society; on the other, I fear it might be just exploiting an under-represented group to create humorous situations.

The series itself is fun, its fast pace and short episodes are quite successful at catching one's attention and the situations the characters are put in are a mix of uniqueness (due to the alternative setting they find themselves in) and typicality of teenage drama shows.

Considering the girls are neither actively lesbians (at the beginning, at least - Karma is probably bisexual, Amy COULD be a lesbian), nor too familiar with the queer community, the misconceptions seem to be justifiable, but it worries me that people who don't have considerable understanding of queerness might take them as true.

The story has a lot of potential to become an inspiration to teenagers who are struggling with their sexual identities, but it needs to be developed with caution, considering our society isn't as acceptable as the girls' school.