If the unfashionably early demise of The CW series “The Beautiful Life: TBL” left you with a closet full of questions—Who’s the father of Sonja’s (Mischa Barton) baby? Is Raina’s (Sara Paxton) brother sleeping with the fishes?—you’re not alone. Just a few days ago we pondered these same (seemingly unanswerable) questions. But we needed a little closure, so Hollywood Crush caught up with a member of the model drama’s production staff who spilled major details about the series including what we would have seen in upcoming episodes (hint: sex, lies and murder!).
As was earlier reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the cast and crew were in the middle of filming the seventh episode when news broke last Friday that the show would be canceled. (Ironically they were ahead of production compared to other CW shows, even though they started two weeks late). Even more surprisingly, they didn’t hear the news first from CW brass. Nope, they heard it like the rest of us—through the media! According to our insider, the news was leaked to THR 10 minutes before executives informed producers the series was dunzo. Our source also added that a script for the eighth episode was finished and scripts for the ninth and tenth episodes were in various stages of completion.
Just like any soap, the first few episodes of “TBL” were setting the stage for all the juicy drama to ensue. In fact, starting with episode 3 the series was to take quite a sexy turn. “If they just aired the first four episodes, I think people would have been hooked,” our source said. But instead the series was strangled before it got a chance to breathe. Taking pity on us poor, abandoned viewers, our source answered five of our burning questions left in the series’ wake. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. If you’re holding out for an online run or DVD (though our insider said a DVD is highly unlikely with so few episodes in the can), you might want to click away NOW.
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By now you’ve likely heard the CW model drama “The Beautiful Life: TBL” walked off the runway — or more accurately, was pushed — due to poor ratings. The Mischa Barton-starring series, produced by Ashton Kutcher, ran for just two episodes before getting the axe, making it the first series cancellation of the 2009-10 season. Though low viewership was blamed, we can’t help but wonder if the inclusion of “beautiful” in the title had something to do with it. Back in 2006, another show about comely characters, the ABC Family drama “Beautiful People,” starring Daphne Zuniga and a pre-”Twilight” Jackson Rathbone (!), was also canceled, though after 16 episodes.
Whatever the reason for its demise, the death of “TBL” has left us with several unsolved mysteries and burning questions. After the jump, check out our top 10:
1. Who is the father of Sonja’s baby?
2. Why was Raina’s (Sara Paxton) father in prison?
3. Did Chris (Ben Hollingsworth) have to sleep on the floor or did he get to have a model slumber party in Raina’s bed?
4. What was the history between Sonja and Cole (Nico Tortorella)? It seemed like something was there, right?
5. Is Raina’s brother Alex (Billy Magnussen) sleeping with the fishes?
6. Did Sonja ever run into Serena van der Woodsen at 1Oak?
7. Would Isaac (Corbin Bleu) be rescued from a life of prostitution by Troy Bolton?
8. What would have come in Chris’ care package from the farm? Long underwear? Wool socks? An ear of corn to remember his family by?
9. Would Ashton ever “Punk” the set with a super-glue covered runway?
10. Which “Twilight” star would kill Mischa in this series?
Did the cancellation of “The Beautiful Life” leave you with any burning questions?
Source: hollywoodcrush.mtv.com
We have the first casualty of the fall season.
After two episodes, The CW has canceled Ashton Kutcher’s scripted drama “The Beautiful Life.”
Production on the the show, which had been filming its seventh episode, was shut down Friday.
Wednesday’s episode was seen by just 1 million viewers and generated a 0.5 rating in the adult demo.
The decision comes on the heels of two reality show pickups by the network, “Fly Girls” and a Tinsley Mortimer docusoap.
The CW’s freshman revamp of “Melrose Place” has had difficulty achieving liftoff as well, but Thursday night’s “Vampire Diaries” has been performing strong. Last night’s third “Diaries” episode grew in the adult demo despite facing increased competition.
The CW has not yet announced a replacement for the “Beautiful Life” slot. The new reality shows won’t be ready until January. One option is airing “Melrose Place” encores (like the way the network double-pumped “90210″ last season). Another option, less likely, is to bring “Smallville” back into the midweek mix. “Smallville” was shifted to Friday nights for its (presumed) final season and debuts this evening.
The main driver behind the CW’s order to“TBL” was the similarity in setting with the network’s veteran reality series “America’s Next top Model,” which served as its lead-in on Wednesday.
“TBL” got a lot of pre-launch publicity stemming from the medical problems of star Mischa Barton.
In July, the show’s production also was postponed by a week because the stages were not ready.
Source: thrfeed.com
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