Young Americans Information

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Young Americans is an American television drama created by Steven Antin. The show debuted on July 12, 2000 on The WB network as a summer replacement for, and spin-off from, another Columbia TriStar Television production, Dawson's Creek. The series was originally ordered for the fall 1999-2000 season but was delayed due to unresolved matters between the ColumbiaTriStar and The WB. The main character, Will Krudski, was introduced late in season three of Dawson's Creek as a childhood friend of the group who has kept in contact with Pacey Witter. Will goes to Capeside to visit with old friends while on spring break. After briefly dating Andie McPhee he returns to Raleigh.

The show explores themes of forbidden love, morality, social classes and gender roles.

Plot summary

Young Americans is set in the town of New Rawley at a prestigious boarding school, Rawley Academy. Will Krudski, a working class New Englander, earns a scholarship to his hometown's posh boarding school, starting with the summer session, as a means of escaping his abusive father. In a moment of carelessness he confesses to his roommate, Scout, that he cheated on the entrance exam. Their professor, Finn, overhears Will and Scout discussing what to do. Before making a final decision about expelling him, Finn has Will write an essay on who he is.

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Throughout the series Will continues to face moral dilemmas as he struggles to find his place at school while not alienating his friends in town. There is also the forbidden love of Scout and Bella, who may have the same father. Jacqueline, in an attempt to see if her mother notices her, enrolls at Rawley Academy and presents herself as Jake. Things get complicated when she develops feelings for Hamilton, the dean's son. Hamilton begins to wonder if he is gay as he realizes he has feelings for Jake. The story lines do not converge until the final two episodes of the show as Bella seeks the truth about her biological father.

Cast

• Rodney Scott as William "Will" Krudski, a poor but brilliant young man who cheated on the entrance exam to ensure his admission and has a complicated relationship to his father.
• Mark Famiglietti as Scout Calhoun, Will's roommate at Rawley Academy. Scout meets, and dates, Will's old friend Bella until her father explains his disapproval.
• Katherine Moennig as Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt, a teenage girl who disguises herself as a boy to get the attention of her absent mother.
• Ian Somerhalder as Hamilton Fleming, a student at the school and the son of the dean. Hamilton finds himself confused by his attraction to Jake.
• Kate Bosworth as Bella Banks, Will's childhood friend " a pretty townie torn between Scout and fellow New Rawleyian, Sean.
• Ed Quinn as Finn, coach of the rowing team and also a teacher.

Notable guest appearances

• Matt Czuchry as Sean McGrail, Will's long-time best friend and baseball team mate as well as a childhood friend of Bella's.
• Deborah Hazlett as Susan Krudski, Will's mother. Works at a New Rawley beauty salon named "Glamorama".
• Charlie Hunnam as Gregor Ryder, bad-boy and student at Rawley Academy.
• Michelle Monaghan as Caroline Busse, Will's love interest.
• Cyndi Johnson as Paige Bennett, old friend of Scout's family.
• Kathleen Bridget Kelly as Kate Fleming, Hamilton's mother and the dean's wife.
• Gabrielle Christian as Grace, Bella's irresponsible sister
• Beau Gravitte as Senator Calhoun, Scout's dad.
• Glynnis O'Connor as Donna Banks, Bella & Grace's mom.
• Naomi Kline as Lena, a student visiting Rawley Academy for girls showing a romantic interest in Jake.

Production

Steve Antin credits a stop at a New England gas station as the inspiration for the series. He was a little surprised to see four teenage girls working as pump jockeys. "One of them said, 'My dad owns the station.' I just thought this was the sweetest thing I ever saw." The pilot was filmed in Atlanta in 1999. The series was filmed in Havre de Grace, Maryland where a new "town square", gas station and Friendly's restaurant were built for the production of the show at the intersection of Congress Avenue and North Washington Street. Wilmington and Charlotte, both in North Carolina, had been considered possible filming locations for the series.

Sponsorship

Young Americans was originally supposed to be a mid-season show in 2000 but was put on hold until Coca-Cola offered to sponsor the show. The character of Will Krudski was then written into Dawson's Creek to associate Young Americans with one of The WB's established shows. When Dawson's Creek went on hiatus in the summer of 2000, Young Americans occupied its timeslot of Wednesdays at 9 P.M. Repeats were shown at 9 P.M. on Fridays.

The Coca-Cola Company paid $6 million to be the primary sponsor, the show being billed as "Coca-Cola Presents Young Americans". Young Americans was profiled by Steve Carell on the August 22, 2000 episode of The Daily Show in the Ad Nauseam segment due to the Coca-Cola tie ins. Carell constantly referred to "The Beginning" as an "hour-long commercial". Some of the scenes also took place in a Friendly's restaurant, which was built from an old pizzeria for the show.

Coca-Cola products are seen or mentioned in most episodes. The unaired pilot episode does not contain the product placement. Among the changes to the pilot is a scene that was reshot in order to show the characters drinking Coca-Cola.

Promotion

A scene from the pilot, which was heavily promoted prior to the show's premiere, where the characters and other students at Rawley run in slow motion to the school's lake while stripping off their clothes was parodied in another WB show, Grosse Pointe.

Music

• Nick Drake - "Pink Moon" (ep 1.1 and 1.7)
• The Getaway People - "Six Pacs" (modified) (ep 1.1 and theme song)
• Nick Drake - "From the Morning" (ep 1.1)
• Blur - "Tender" (ep 1.1)
• Hans Zimmer - "You're so cool" (ep 1.1)
• Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - "Over the Rainbow" (ep 1.1 and 1.8)
• Crash Poets - "Goodbye" (ep 1.2)
• Nick Drake - "Which Will" (ep 1.3)
• Kate Bosworth as Bella Banks - "The Way You Look Tonight" (ep. 1.4)
• Julius La Rosa - "The Way You Look Tonight" (ep. 1.4)
• David Gray - "This Years Love" (ep. 1.5)
• Salt-N-Pepa - "Let's Talk About Sex" (ep. 1.5)
• David Gray - "Sail Away" (ep 1.5)
• David Gray - "Please Forgive Me" (Album Version) (ep 1.5)
• Nick Drake - "Place to Be" (ep 1.7)
• Nick Drake - "Things Behind the Sun" (ep 1.7)
• Brooke Lundy - "Fernando" (ep 1.8)

Theme song

The theme song "Six Pacs" by The Getaway People from the album Turnpike Diaries was changed at the request of the producers to remove the original reference to cigarettes in the lyric.

Joe Voci, the show's executive producer, said in an interview with VH1.com that "Unlike other teen shows that are angst-driven, ours is about a group of kids who want to do the right things, and how they handle the obstacles they're presented. The song presented a mood, tone and feel that is optimistic and implies a sense of adventure."

Reception

David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun described the series as "Shakespeare Summer Lite, with some gender-bending and woodland trysts to go along with the star-crossed lovers." In comparing the series to another debut Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly found that "it at least avoids the unearned angst of the summer's other 15-year-olds-in-school show, Fox's hapless Opposite Sex". Harvard creative writing professor Jane Rosenzweig found that Young Americans "has a breadth of focus that's far more true to life than the so-called reality-based shows like MTV's Real World and CBS's summer hit Survivor."

Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that the show presents as though the creator "looked at the blueprints of other WB shows and plucked out the elements that would give his series the best chance for success with the Gen Y set." After naming a checklist of elements of the show that are common to many shows on The WB, Owen says that it is admirable from a business standpoint to make a show in such a manner but that it is not very original. Owen concludes by calling Young Americans "mindless and cliched" but still "guilty summer fun." Michele Hewitson of The New Zealand Herald compared the show to the film Dead Poets Society and said that it is not often "an American television series manages to exceed all expectations - of utter awfulness."

Despite being a spin off of one of the most popular WB shows, Young Americans received low ratings throughout its summer run and was cancelled in August 2000. As of September 2010 Young Americans ranks 49th among unreleased TV shows on TVShowsOnDVD.com.

Episode list

Series #	Title	Director	Writer(s)	Original airdate </ref>	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 1	ShortSummary= Will settles in at Rawley Academy, where the teacher Finn learns a secret Will shared with Scout. When Scout's dating Bella turns serious, Mr. Banks explains why he won't allow it. The rowing team's cox Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt, who also has a secret, makes a profound impression on Hamilton. Hamilton is surprised by this and starts to question his own sexual orientation.	LineColor= b9a896 }} </ref>	WrittenBy= Steven Antin	DirectedBy= James Whitmore, Jr.	OriginalAirDate=	EpisodeNumber= 2	ShortSummary= Will agonises over telling best friend Sean about his attending the summer session at Rawley Academy. Scout is introduced to Will's old friends at Sean's party. Bella gets upset when Scout tells her that he wants to tell his father about her. Sean misreads the situation and a brawl ensues. Hamilton lets Jake know that he's not into guys. Jake's bike is confiscated by the groundskeeper and Hamilton offers to help get it back.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 3	ShortSummary=Will and returned student Ryder accidentally see Finn kissing the dean's wife. Will finds himself in a position where he has to choose between protecting Finn or himself. Scout has a hard time stopping thinking about Bella, but then Paige, a long-time friend of Scout's family, turns up. Scout asks Paige out on a date to the newly restored drive-in theater. Lena, an L.A. resident visiting Rawley Academy, hears about the drive-in and invites Jake to join her and Hamilton. Guest cast includes Charlie Hunnam as Gregor Ryder, Matt Czuchry as Sean McGrail, and Kathleen Bridget Kelly as Kate Fleming.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 4	ShortSummary= Will asks Bella to join him for the Summer Cotillion to impress on Caroline. Hamilton and Jake agree to go alone together, an agreement which is broken when Lena asks Hamilton to go with her. Guest cast includes Matt Czuchry as Sean McGrail and Michelle Monaghan as Caroline Busse.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 5	ShortSummary= Scout's father, Senator Calhoun, makes an unexpected visit for parents' weekend and the regatta, as does Jake's mother. Will's conflict with his father deepens and Bella contemplates meeting Senator Calhoun.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 6	ShortSummary= Bella writes a confessing letter to senator Calhoun and hides it in her jacket, which her younger sister, Grace, subsequently borrows and loses. Ryder finds himself in possession of Will's laptop. Jake and Hamilton go on a date and are confused as to who should pick up the tab or ride the "bitch pad" of Jake's bike. This episode is narrated by Kate Bosworth as Bella Banks. Guest cast includes Charlie Hunnam as Gregor Ryder.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 7	ShortSummary=Bella receives a birthday present from her mother but is unsure how to relate to it. Will's request to tutor has been approved. Will is surprised to learn who he will tutor and what has changed since they last met. Hamilton suggests moving in with Jake so that they can spend more time together. Guest cast includes Charlie Hunnam as Gregor Ryder, Matt Czuchry as Sean McGrail, and Kathleen Bridget Kelly as Kate Fleming.	LineColor= b9a896 }}	EpisodeNumber= 8	ShortSummary= Will learns that the funding for his scholarship has been withdrawn. Bella's father receives a phone call informing him that the gas station is up for auction, and Bella seeks out her mother to put the deed in her father's name. Jake's masquerade comes to an abrupt halt. At the end of the episode, Will gets new funding, allowing him to remain at the academy for the fall semester. While this episode is clearly meant to serve as the introduction for the fall season of the series, Young Americans was canceled before any additional episodes could be produced. Guest cast includes Matt Czuchry as Sean McGrail and Glynnis O'Connor as Donna Banks.	LineColor= b9a896 }}