NYC Prep
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| NYC Prep | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality Show |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Upper East Side & Upper West Side, New York City, New York |
| Running time | approx 41 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Bravo |
| Original run | June 23, 2009 – August 11, 2009 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
NYC Prep was a reality television program on the Bravo channel. It followed six Manhattan teenagers in their daily lives as they attended events such as weekend parties, fashion shows, shopping sprees, charity events and dinner parties.[1] The show drew many comparisons to the hit CW television show, Gossip Girl because both shows revolved around the lives of Manhattan's "elite" teenagers.[2][3] Filming was not allowed during school, nor were any school names specifically mentioned on the show, as the schools desired to distance themselves from the show.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Camille Isobel Hughes
Camille Isobel Hughes is an 18-year-old at the Professional Children's School. She is an academically driven student who had hoped to become a member of the class of 2014 at Harvard University and was previously a student at the Nightingale-Bamford School. However, Camille has decided to attend The College of William & Mary in the fall of 2010 to join the class of 2014. Only her math SAT score was released from her blog; she answered two questions incorrectly on the math portion. Camille has a younger sister, Lillie, who is 14. She lives with her mother, Cinda, and her stepfather, David, in Manhattan; her father, Craig, lives in Salem, Virginia. Hughes is currently pledging the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
[edit] Jessica "Jessie" Leavitt
Jessica Leavitt is an 18-year-old graduate of the Dwight School on the Upper West Side of New York City.[4] She and one of her closest friends PC have a love/hate relationship, and she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology in fall 2009. Jessie interns for evening wear designer Carmen Marc Valvo.
[edit] Kelli Brooke Tomashoff
Kelli Brooke Tomashoff is a 17-year-old student at the Birch Wathen Lenox School on the Upper East Side of New York City. She is a member of the school's class of 2010.[4] Kelli's parents live in The Hamptons, while Kelli and her older brother share an apartment.[5] Kelli's mother is a realtor. Her father is the owner of a printing company. She used to go to Westhampton Beach High School. She attends Eugene Lang College.
[edit] Sebastian Oppenheim
Sebastian Oppenheim is a 16-year-old student at Ross School, a private school in East Hampton, New York. His father is Jeff Oppenheim, a theater and film director, producer and writer. His mother is Djida Oppenheim. He has a sister, Stephanie. Sebastian is a member of the school's class of 2011. On August 13, 2009, photos of Oppenheim and Gabe Aiello, a guest star on NYC Prep, surfaced of them wearing imitation Hitler mustaches using black tape to make swastikas on a car seat and car window.[6] Sebastian worked for some time on raising money for his charitable concern--building wells in Africa. He is working in association with BULA. He will be attending College of Charleston in the fall. Sebastian's official website is www.sebastianoppenheim.com.
[edit] Taylor DiGiovanni
Taylor DeGiovanni[7] is a 15-year-old student who previously attended Stuyvesant High School, a public high school in Battery Park City, New York. Taylor is a member of the school's class of 2011.[4] She now attends City As School in New York City. She is the only cast member who does not attend a private high school. Despite the fact that she attends public high school, she is still friends with many teenagers from the private high schools. She lives on the Upper West Side.
[edit] Peter Cary "PC" Peterson
Peter Cary "PC" Peterson is an 18-year-old resident of the Upper West Side in New York City. Although the show chronicles his life on the Upper East Side, PC resides on the Upper West Side with his mother. He attended the Dwight School on the Upper West Side as well. He is the grandson of billionaire and former US Secretary of Commerce Peter George Peterson. His grandmother Joan Ganz Cooney created Sesame Street. PC's mother is Paige Peterson, a noted painter and writer. His father is David Peterson. PC's parents are amicably divorced.[4] PC attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida for one year before returning to New York. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He was in the movie, "Twelve" starring Chace Crawford and 50 Cent.[8]
[edit] Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | June 23, 2009 | August 11, 2009 | |
[edit] Episodes
- Special
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| S-01 | "Preview Special" | June 2, 2009 |
| Cast members are introduced to the audience. Relationships between Jessie and PC, Kelli and Sebastian, and PC and Taylor are established. PC, Taylor, and two other teens attend Fashion Week in New York City. | ||
- Season 1
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Top Half of the 1%" | June 23, 2009 |
| PC laments that many people wonder if he is homosexual or bisexual, and blames it on a "repressed latent oral-anal fixation". | ||
| 2 | "Flip of the Hair" | June 30, 2009 |
| 3 | "What Happens In Mexico..." | July 7, 2009 |
| PC spends Winter Break partying in Mexico. PC's best friend reveals that PC is bisexual. Jessie is in Florida, thinking of him. Kelli while in the Hamptons has a funeral for her dog. Camille and Taylor stay in the city. Taylor can't decide between Cole and Sebastian. | ||
| 4 | "The Virgin Talk" | July 14, 2009 |
| 5 | "The Overachievers" | July 21, 2009 |
| Kelli connects with a voice coach in an effort to punch up her singing career; Taylor tries to balance dating, school and dance; and Jessie has designs on a fashion career. PC sees a psychiatrist and he enrolls himself in a modeling internship. | ||
| 6 | "Guests of Guests" | July 28, 2009 |
| 7 | "Ivy League Of Their Own" | August 4, 2009 |
| PC and Taylor go to a candy store and talk. Camille goes to Boston to get a tour of Harvard University and is joined by Kelli. There is gossip in the Prep Scene, that PC is taking Taylor as his "protege". PC takes a hotel suite and has a party and invites his senior friends. Taylor doesn't come who says that she is grounded. Cole comes unannounced to the party and has a private discussion with PC about Taylor. At a party, Cole and his friends diss PC. | ||
| 8 | "Charitable to a Fault" | August 11, 2009 |
[edit] Critical reception
Metacritic gave the show a Metascore of 42 based on 8 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average reviews.[9] Jezebel's Margaret Hartmann found the show "tame" comparatively to Gossip Girl, "Though each of the cast members fits an obvious Gossip Girl stereotype, real teens can't be shown having sex or taking drugs.[10] Los Angeles Times noted "Chuck and Blair may be prone to saying things like "That's what New York is: Money is power" and "I treat my clothing like children," but somehow the charm is lost when it's coming out of real teenagers' mouths."[11] Salon.com described NYC Prep as "the reality version" of "Gossip Girl" for those who take "Gossip Girl" a little too seriously--and don't mind that real prep school kids are far less witty and fascinating than the scripted ones."[12] Brian Lowry from Variety criticized the fact that parents are about as present as those in the Charlie Brown cartoons and said the main problem is that "the show never gets better than its title -- lacking the sociological insight to score as a documentary or the hyper-real situations and "characters" that would make it sizzle as a soap."[13]
However, Anne Becker from The Daily Beast said "NYC Prep trumps its scripted predecessor, Gossip Girl, in terms of quality guilty-viewing pleasure. Despite its flagging ratings, the series is actually more entertaining than the show from which it was born."[14] New York Daily News's David Hinckley gave the show a 3 stars rating out of 5, writing, "underneath, we also see kids. Yes, rich kids, but also insecure kids coping with the universal dramas of teenagers. That may be the most engaging part of "NYC Prep.""[15]
Dorothy Hutcheson, head of Nightingale-Bamford School, sent a letter home to all Nightingale parents, warning them about the show and the potentially negative portrayal of the school on the show.[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Diaz, Glenn (April 23, 2009). "NYC Prep". BuddyTV. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/nyc-prep/nyc-prep-27999.aspx. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ Stanley, Alessandra. "Rich Kids, Don’t Look Now, but Your Teenage Angst Is Showing". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/arts/television/23prep.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=NYC%20Prep&st=cse. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
- ^ Bosman, Julie (July 2, 2009). "Who’s Afraid of ‘NYC Prep’?". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/fashion/05nycprep.html. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c d NYC Private School (May 23, 2009). "The Elite Speak: Meet the Cast of Bravo’s NYC Prep". NYC Private School Blogs. http://nycprivateschoolsblog.com/students/the-elite-speak-meet-the-cast-of-bravos-nyc-prep/05/23/2009/. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ "NYC Prep". Voice Teacher Badiene Magaziner. http://www.voice-teacher.com/NYprep.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ Hilton, Perez (August 13, 2009). "Playboy Sebastian From NYC Prep Is Bored & Offensive". PerezHilton.com. http://perezhilton.com/2009-08-13-playboy-sebastian-from-nyc-prep-is-bored-offensive. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
- ^ Mandell, Andrea (June 22, 2009). "'Gossip Girl,' 'NYC Prep': Privileged to meet you". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/2009-06-22-gsip-nyc-prep_N.htm. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
- ^ "Peter Cary Peterson". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3489469/. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "NYC Prep: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/nyc-prep/season-1. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Hartmann, Margaret (June 23, 2009). "Bravo Fails With Gossip Girl Knock Off NYC Prep". Jezebel. http://jezebel.com/5301161/bravo-fails-with-gossip-girl-knock-off-nyc-prep. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Portuguez, Enid (June 24, 2009). "'NYC Prep': Love it or hate it?". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/06/nyc-prep-love-it-or-hate-it.html. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Havrilesky, Heather (June 23, 2009). "Guillotine those rich teens!". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/2009/06/23/nyc_prep/. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (June 22, 2012). "NYC Prep". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940544?refCatId=32. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Becker, Anne (August 12, 2009). "7 Reasons Why 'NYC Prep' Tops 'Gossip Girl'". The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/blogs/pop-vox/2009/08/12/7-reasons-why-nyc-prep-tops-gossip-girl.html. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Hinckley, David (June 21, 2009). "NYC Prep: Series is rich in plain old teen angst". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/television/nyc-prep-series-rich-plain-old-teen-angst-article-1.374523. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Rovzar, Chris (June 15, 2009). "‘Dear Nightingale Parents — Later This Fall Bravo Will Premiere NYC Prep’". NYmag.com. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/06/dear_nightingale_parents_-_lat.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
