As if television didn’t have enough trashy, coming-of-age stories, there is yet another to add to the list. Although I tend to worship at the altar of horrible television, I thought “The L.A. Complex” would be my limit because there is literally nothing original about it. To my utter surprise, this show is a super fun combination of sleaze, drama and unconventional characters trying to stay above water, financially and emotionally, in the dog-eat-dog world of Los Angeles. The show premiered on CTV in Canada back in January and was so well liked the CW decided to bring it to the States and order 13 more episodes. There’s pretty much nothing unique about this show, but it has a really interesting breadth, as the characters encompass a large range of ages, incomes and talents.
The show centers on Abby Vargas (played by Cassie Steele of “Degrassi” fame), a 20-something girl with dreams of being an actress, who moved from Toronto to LA with nothing but a car and some clothes. The pilot opens on her eviction from her apartment and her car breaking down on the way to the first audition she’s had in months. Everything seems completely hopeless, until a friend of a friend, Nick, has the brilliant idea of having her move into his apartment complex. His friend, Connor, is moving out of his apartment, and although she’s completely broke, she manages to weasel the landlord into letting her stay for a few days without paying.
The people that live in this apartment/motel complex are in various states of employment and are engaged in very different industries. Abby’s friend, Tariq, is a slave intern for a rapper and is trying to get his tracks heard by his boss, with very little success. Nick is an aspiring comedian, who has essentially been told by everyone he should just give up and quit because he is so bad. On the brighter side, Connor is moving into a house because his new pilot got picked up for a season. His occasional booty call, Raquel (played by Jewel Staite from “Firefly”), used to be a regular on a successful TV show, but her time in the limelight has come to an end and she’s struggling to find any work at her age. Finally, Alicia is an incredibly talented dancer, who is in and out of auditions almost every day. Despite her talent, she has yet to get her big break.
In the pilot episode, the apartment complex has a party to celebrate Connor’s new show and to commiserate over the fact that everyone else is still rolling in the proverbial deep. Despite the fact that Abby has a boyfriend back in Toronto, she decides to take some X and hook up with Connor, on a rooftop no less. He doesn’t use a condom because this is TV teen drama and there’s got to be some kind of scandal. So the next day, he takes her out to breakfast with a side order of the morning after pill (what a gentleman). Of course, the only successful character on the show is a total douchebag. Meanwhile, Abby gets a call from her agent, telling her that she can make up the audition that she missed the day before. She runs in at the last minute, only to find out it’s a singing role. Fear not, if “Degrassi” taught us anything (other than how to live our lives), it’s that Cassie Steele is a fabulous singer. Abby sits down at the piano and croons out some beautiful effortless song, before proceeding to vomit on the piano because of the morning after pill nausea.
Needless to say, the pilot was pretty jam-packed, but in a good way, because we were given a comprehensive overview of all the main characters. We know enough to know they are all talented, and therefore, we root for them, despite the trashiness of the show. It’s nice to know we aren’t the only ones out there with problems. Fictional characters are struggling, too.
Tune in for the second episode next Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the CW.
-Mackenzie Bronk
