Hidden Palms Review

The CW offers a teen soap for the summer

May 28, 2007 Karen Woodward

Hidden Palms insults the audience by forcing too much suspension of disbelief. Who are these characters and why should we care about them?

Summer television consists of reality shows and scripted duds that the networks are burning off. Sometimes these duds are mild hits, such as last summer’s Windfall, or 2004’s aptly named Summerland; no doubt The CW hopes to find the same success with Hidden Palms, a teen soap set in Palm Springs about a picture perfect town marred by tragedy. The network may just be in luck, since summertime may be the only time a show like this would survive. Created by Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek, the Scream movies) and Scott Winant (Huff, My So-Called Life) this show is nothing more than teen and adult angst, never compelling enough to compete in the fall television season. Indeed, The CW doesn’t even have it on its fall schedule, so clearly the network agrees. But even as summertime fare, this series falls short, never quite meeting its potential.

An Uncertain Future

Hidden Palms focuses on Johnny Miller (Taylor Handley, The O.C.), a formerly well adjusted teen trying to deal with his father’s suicide. Now fresh out of rehab, Johnny is struggling to deal with an uncertain future in the surreal glare of Palm Springs, where his mother, Karen (Gail O'Grady, NYPD Blue), and her new husband, Bob (D.W. Moffett, For Your Love), have decided to make a new start. As he navigates the Palm Springs social scene, he meets precocious teens who harbor a secret surrounding the mysterious death of one of their friends. This group decides to bring him into their circle, and whether it’s to befriend him or scare him, is yet another mystery. Playing this crop of teens are fresh faces such as Amber Heard (Alpha Dog), Michael Cassidy (also from The O.C.), Ellary Porterfield (The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio) and Tessa Thompson (Veronica Mars).

With Williamson and Winant at the helm, one expects more than this teenage drivel. “I don’t think that I’m writing a teenage character,” Williamson said at The CW’s winter press tour in January. “If I start trying to get into a teenager’s head, then you’re talking down to the audience.” But perhaps that’s what this show needs – a little more teen, and a little less adult. Imagine Seth Cohen stuck in a mysterious Palm Springs, and suddenly this series sounds a little more interesting. Instead, these kids seem like they’re acting mysterious simply because they think it’s cool, and not because there is really any mystery going on. This makes the whole 42 minutes feel like a waste of time.

Breakout Stars?

In publicizing the show, The CW is focusing on Handley and Heard; seeming to believe that the latter is the breakout star as Greta a mysterious loner. But don’t be fooled – if there is a breakout star to this series (assuming it lasts that long) it will be Michael Cassidy as Cliff Wyatt, a handsome and popular high schooler with an obvious dark side. Ellary Porterfield is also interesting as Liza, a gifted but awkward high school student who conducts explosive science experiments in her garage, yet still manages to keep a close eye on everything that happens in the neighborhood. Forget about Handley and Heard, who are so dull as to be barely watchable.

Judging from the pilot, this series is barely watchable. It may work as a summer show, but don't expect it to last until the fall.

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