Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television

by Thea Glassman, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Foreword by)

Overview

The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever.

The modern television landscape is defined by influential and ambitious shows for and about teenagers. Groundbreaking series like Euphoria, Sex Education, and Pen15 dominate awards season and lead the way when it comes to progressive, diverse, and creative storytelling. So how did we get here from Beverly Hills, 90210?

In Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek, entertainment journalist Thea Glassman takes readers behind the scenes of seven of the most culturally significant series of the last three decades, drawing on dozens of new interviews with showrunners, cast, crewmembers, and more. These shows not only launched the careers of such superstars as Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Claire Danes, and Seth Rogen, but they also took young people seriously, proving that teen TV could be smart, revolutionary, and “important”—and stay firmly entrenched in pop culture long after it finished airing. And while many critics insist that prestige dramas like The Sopranos and Mad Men paved the way for television, some of the most groundbreaking work was actually happening inside the fictional hallways of high schools across America in teen shows whose impact remains visible on our screens today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762480760
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	06/27/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	202,715
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Thea Glassman is an entertainment journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Glamour, VICE, and The Hollywood Reporter. Her writing goes behind the scenes of films and television shows, from an insider's look at the making of The Office to a profile on prolific casting director Allison Jones. Glassman lives in Los Angeles and still feels a little bit emotional about The O.C. finale.

Editorial Reviews

04/03/2023

Glassman, entertainment editor at the website SheKnows, debuts with a fun, nostalgic look at how classic teen TV shows have influenced modern television. Teen shows of the past few decades were often culturally groundbreaking, Glassman writes, such as in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s depiction of a Black family with “a totally different level” of wealth and positive perspective on hip-hop. My So-Called Life had the first teenager to come out on television, and Dawson’s Creek protested California’s Prop 22 with an “anti-prom” episode that featured the first kiss between two men on network television, earning the program two GLADD awards. Other shows expanded the structural and tonal possibilities for network teen television, notable examples being Freaks and Geeks’ “independent feature film” style and Friday Night Lights’ sometimes ad-libbed, sometimes overlapping dialogue, which Glassman contends helped leverage the show into a “leading contender in prestige TV.” While some chapters don’t delve as deep as others (the discussion of Glee, for instance, is monopolized by the show’s numerous scandals and tragedies), Glassman offers enough tantalizing, behind-the-scenes scoop to keep readers hooked, peeling back the curtain on writers’ processes, casting decisions, and on-set gossip. This look at teen TV classics will delight anyone who loves to “did you know” their friends while rewatching a favorite. (June)

Publishers Weekly

As addicting as an afternoon bingeing your favorite TV show. In this book, Thea Glassman has written the definitive text on the teen shows that defined our popular culture. Insightful, smart, delightful. A must-read for all pop culture devotees.” —Dana Schwartz, New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy: A Love Story

“Freaks, Gleeks & Dawson’s Creek is as sharp, clever and full of heart as the seven iconic TV shows Thea Glassman so eloquently writes about within these pages. Thea takes us on a lovely behind-the-scenes tour of a glorious bygone era, when TV was a slow, seasonal burn, characters were old familiar friends and their relationships something to live and die for.” —Tom Kapinos, Showrunner and Executive Producer of Dawson’s Creek

“Thea Glassman has done her homework—I’m happy to be included in this fun and informative book.” —Winnie Holzman, Creator of My So-Called Life

“Clear your schedule and cancel your evening plans: I stayed up all night reading Thea Glassman’s smart, insightful, funny book like it was the notes for tomorrow’s trig test I had forgotten to study for. This book is the perfect read for anyone who ever fell in love with a TV show about adolescence that felt like it spoke just to you, be it My So-Called Life or Freaks and Geeks or Friday Night Lights. Freaks, Gleeks and Dawson’s Creek is a book to savor, whether you are in high school, remember high school fondly, or wish you didn’t remember it at all.” —Saul Austerlitz, author of Generation Friends

“Thea Glassman has served up a lively inside look at the making of the shows that spoke to the modern teenage experience in groundbreaking ways. Full of heart, drama, and delicious insight, Freaks, Gleeks and Dawson’s Creek is a must-read for anyone who swooned over Riggins, who identified with Angela Chase or Seth Cohen or the New Directions, and who laughed and cried watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Reading this book felt like watching my favorites all over again—I shed nostalgic tears!” —Erin Carlson, author of I’ll Have What She’s Having and Queen Meryl

“Freaks, Gleeks and Dawson’s Creek is compulsively readable, teeming with insights into what made our favorite teen shows some of television’s most influential series. Reading this book is like dishing with a good friend who loves TV as much as you do—except that Thea Glassman has taken the extra step of speaking to the creatives who made these shows so impactful. A delightful and informative read from beginning to end, it deserves a spot on every TV fan’s bookshelf.” —Kirthana Ramisetti, author of Good Morning America’s pick Dava Shastri’s Last Day

“If you’re someone who pauses TV shows to say ‘Did you know that . . . ’ then this book is definitely for you, with some of the best behind-the-scenes stories for your trivia arsenal. Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek is an insightful history of how today’s television came to be and is chock-full of interviews with the people who were actually there. I’d say I couldn’t put this book down, but it’s so nostalgic that I had to pause after every chapter to watch the shows again!” —Em Schulz, New York Times bestselling author of A Haunted Road Atlas and host of the podcast And That’s Why We Drink

From the Publisher

06/01/2023

Up until the 1980s, television shows aimed at teenagers often found devoted fanbases but little critical notice. This began to change in the early 1990s. Entertainment journalist Glassman has written a loving and lighthearted look at seven influential series of the era that changed the way teenagers were represented on TV. She vividly explores the painfully honest My So-Called Life, the elevated dialogue of Dawson's Creek, the ahead-of-its-time vulnerability of Freaks and Geeks, the dramatic comedy of The O.C., the beloved teen/family balance of Friday Night Lights, and the game-changing success of Glee. About these shows, critics noted the realistic characters and the way larger issues were woven into the stories. For teens and viewers in their twenties who adored these fully realized characters, the shows became a vital and unforgettable piece of their lives. The success of the book is Glassman's decision to focus on the creators and writers, rather than the cast. Even readers unfamiliar with these shows will likely find the book so engaging and well-written that they'll want to binge-watch many of the series as soon as they put down the book. VERDICT An enjoyable look at a key era in youth representation on television.—Peter Thornell

Library Journal