Faking It (2014 TV series)

Faking It
Intertitle for early first season episodes; each episode since then has an intertitle with differing fonts and motifs connected to each individual episode.
Genre	Comedy-drama
Created by	Dana Min Goodman Julia Wolov
Developed by	Carter Covington
Starring	Rita Volk Katie Stevens Gregg Sulkin Michael Willett Bailey De Young
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	38 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Carter Covington
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Viacom Media Networks
Distributor	Viacom Media Networks
Release
Original network	MTV
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original release	April 22, 2014 (2014-04-22) – May 17, 2016 (2016-05-17)
External links
Official website

Faking It is an American single-camera romantic comedy^[1] series that premiered on MTV on April 22, 2014, starring Rita Volk, Katie Stevens, Gregg Sulkin, Michael Willett and Bailey De Young.^[2] The series was created by Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov. Carter Covington developed the series and serves as the executive producer.^[3] An eight-episode first season was ordered by MTV in October 2013.^[4] MTV announced a ten episode second season set to premiere on September 23, 2014.^[5][6] In August 2014, the show won a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Breakout Show". In October 2014, MTV ordered 10 more episodes, meaning season 2 would have a total of 20 episodes.^[7] The series features the first intersex main character on a television show,^[8] and included television's first intersex character played by an intersex actor.^[9]

On April 21, 2015 it was announced that the second half of season 2 would air from August 31, 2015 as well as being renewed for a third season which premiered on March 15, 2016.^[10][11]

On May 13, 2016, MTV announced that Faking It was cancelled after 3 seasons.^[12]

Synopsis

At Hester High School in the suburbs of Austin, being different is popular. After many failed attempts to stand out, Karma Ashcroft (Katie Stevens) and her best friend Amy Raudenfeld (Rita Volk) are invited to a house party hosted by popular gay student Shane Harvey (Michael Willett), who is under the impression that the girls are a lesbian couple.

At the party they are subsequently outed as the school's first lesbian couple and unwillingly nominated for homecoming Queens. Continuing the charade as their popularity soars, Karma attracts the attention of the popular and handsome Liam Booker (Gregg Sulkin), while Amy becomes aware of her growing romantic feelings for Karma.

Cast

Main cast in September 2014. L to R: Bailey De Young, Rita Volk, Katie Stevens, Gregg Sulkin and Michael J. Willett

Main cast

• Rita Volk as Amy Raudenfeld, a junior at Hester High School and Karma's cynical best friend. She hesitantly agrees to Karma's plan of pretending to be lesbians for popularity, but realizes she might not actually be "faking it" after their first kiss, and, as their lie progresses, so do her romantic and sexual feelings for her best friend. Although, at first, she is not sure whether she is a lesbian, or solely attracted to Karma, she eventually decides she must move on and begins dating girls, even beginning a serious relationship, and is confused and angered by Karma's apparent jealousy. Amy also has issues with her conservative, former beauty queen, mother, who has a hard time dealing with her daughter's homosexuality, and who connects more to Amy's stepsister, Lauren, a near carbon copy of herself.^[13]
• Katie Stevens as Karma Ashcroft, an optimistic high school junior who will go to any length to achieve popularity. However, she gains more than she bargained for when her latest popularity scheme (pretending to be half of her school's first openly lesbian couple) allows her best friend Amy to realize that she loves her as more than a friend. Her life becomes more complex as she carries on a secret, straight, affair with Liam Booker, one of the most popular boys at school, while simultaneously fooling everyone into thinking she and Amy are a monogamous couple. Upon discovering that Amy has true feelings for her, she tries to keep from breaking her best friend's heart, even encouraging her to date other girls. However, when Amy does find someone new, finally allowing Karma and Liam to have a happy relationship, she behaves jealously towards Amy's girlfriend and can't bear being in second place in Amy's life. Her behavior creates even more tension in the group, because it is unclear whether her behavior is just that of a possessive best friend, or if it is the start of something more.^[13]
• Gregg Sulkin as Liam Booker, Shane's best friend, a mysterious and sexy artist who is the most desired boy at the school, and becomes secretly involved with Karma. At first, he is only attracted to her because of his desire to have sex with a lesbian, but he quickly realizes that he has developed real feelings for her; given his previous "player" status and lifestyle, and Amy's presence, his feelings for Karma often cause trouble for him.
• Michael Willett as Shane Harvey, the most popular boy in school who is openly gay. He is witty, straightforward and outgoing, and the best friend of both Liam and Amy. It is Shane who initially (erroneously) outs Karma and Amy as lesbians.^[13] He is also who brings attention to Lauren being intersex, when he publicly confronts her after hearing that she secretly takes pills, drawing attention to her situation, not realizing her need to take hormones. Shane becomes Amy's confidant as her feelings towards Karma develop. As of season 2, he has had two major love interests: a celibate Christian named Pablo, and later, a closeted, macho, wrestler named Duke, who eventually comes out to please Shane, deepening their relationship.
• Bailey De Young as Lauren Cooper, Amy's stepsister, and the new girl in school. Highly conservative, she is furious and frustrated, aware that someone like her would almost certainly be highly popular in a "normal" school that didn't have such liberal-minded students. In season 2, it is revealed that she is intersex; Initially a secret shared only with close friends, she faces major stress as more and more students discover. Lauren becomes very close with her new stepmother, Amy's mom, after realizing they enjoy the same things and that she relates more with her than with anyone at her school.

Recurring cast

Introduced in Season 1

• Rebecca McFarland as Farrah, Amy's mom, a local television reporter who holds conservative views, and is shocked to learn of Amy's sexual orientation.
• Senta Moses as Penelope Bevier, Hester school Principal, later Vice-Principal after the school drug bust.
• Erick Lopez as Tommy Ortega, Lauren's ex-boyfriend.
• Courtney Kato as Leila, a friend of Lauren.
• Breezy Eslin as Elizabeth, a friend of Lauren.
• Anthony Palacios as Pablo, Lauren's dance partner and Shane's ex-boyfriend.
• Amy Farrington as Molly, Karma's mom.
• Lance Barber as Lucas, Karma's dad.
• Dan Gauthier as Bruce Cooper, Lauren's dad, who originally tried to hide the fact that his daughter was intersex.
• Courtney Henggeler as Robin Booker, Sqwerkel representative and Liam's sister (later revealed to actually be Liam's biological mother).
• August Roads as Oliver Walsh, a friend of Amy, who shows interest in her.

Introduced in Season 2

• Yvette Monreal as Reagan, a DJ/waitress and Amy's ex-girlfriend.
• Keith Powers as Anthony "Theo", a friend of Liam and Shane and a love interest for Lauren. He is later revealed to be an undercover police officer.
• Bruce Thomas as Max Booker, Liam's adoptive dad, CEO of Skwerkel who is later revealed to actually be Liam's grandfather.
• Skyler Maxon as Duke Lewis Jr., a MMA fighter and Shane's ex-boyfriend.
• Chloe Bridges as Zita Cruz, a new socialite friend for Liam
• Bernard Curry as George Turner, the new Principal of Hester High following the school drug bust.
• Parker Mack as Felix Turner, a new student at Hester High and the son of Principal Turner.
• Ed Quinn as Hank, Amy's dad.
• Cameron Moulène as Wade, the show's first bisexual identified character.
• Lindsey Shaw as Sasha Harvey, Shane's older sister and a love interest for Liam.

Introduced in Season 3

• Jordan Rodrigues as Dylan, Karma's new, laid back, Hawaiian boyfriend, whom she met while lifeguarding over the summer.
• Elliot Fletcher as Noah, the show's first transgender identified character, who is a member of the band, "Noah's Arc", and is a love interest of Shane's.
• Sophia Taylor Ali as Sabrina, a childhood friend and love interest of Amy.
• McKaley Miller as Rachel, Liam's coworker and love interest, and the daughter of a rabbi.

Guest cast

• Austin Lyon as Victor (1 episode)
• Laverne Cox as Margot (1 episode)
• Fifth Harmony as a girl group (1 episode)
• Mary Lambert as herself (1 episode)
• Sofia Carson as Soleil (2 episodes)

Broadcast

Faking It premiered on April 22, 2014 and ran for eight episodes. On June 9, 2014, the series was picked up for a second season of ten episodes,^[5][6] which premiered on September 23, 2014. This was later expanded to a twenty episode season on October 21, 2014.^[7]

Series overview

Reception

Critical response

Faking It received generally favorable reviews from critics, receiving a 71 score on Metacritic, as well as a 71% for season 1 on Rotten Tomatoes based on seven reviews.

CinemaBlend.com said "About as relevant to the gay lifestyle as Modern Family, Faking It shoots for the stars, but only hits a bunch of brightly colored rainbows on "Vote for Me" posters."^[15] New York Times had this to say about the show: "Faking It isn't anything more than a smarter-than-average high school comedy, but there's a freshness to it, perhaps because so many of the key people involved are relative newcomers."^[15] New York Daily News said "The engine driving this show is female friendship, the kind strong enough to get you through even high school. For Amy and Karma, we want that."^[15] TV Fanatic said "It could be an interesting twist for Amy to stop pretending to be gay and suddenly be pretending to be straight."^[15] Common Sense Media said "The coming-of-age-and-coming-out story is certainly a time-honored one in the LGBT cinematic canon, and having both girls playing gay-for-social-cachet is an interesting farcial spin."^[15] Hollywood.com said "Anyone following MTV's Awkward will be sure to love the new series, but even non-fans won't fake their enjoyment of the new show." ^[15] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said "While the show's premise seems like it could be difficult to maintain, Faking It holds up in two early episodes sent for review."^[16] Boston Globe said "Faking It is an odd, interesting, lightly subversive, and potentially offensive concoction from MTV. It's a twisted comedy that has charm, but also a premise that could be insulting if not handled intelligently." Boston Herald said "There's something hilarious and twisted about outcasts and untouchables running a school while making some of the same mistakes their "normal" peers made. Faking It is the real deal."^[16] Entertainment Weekly said "Credit the winning cast, especially Volk, and executive producer Carter Covington's sweet/snarky tone for a half hour viewers won't have to pretend to love."^[16]

In an average review to the show, Philadelphia Daily News said "For Stevens' character, Karma, kissing her best friend, Amy (Volk), is a way --admittedly not the most direct way--of getting closer to Liam, a cute guy (Gregg Sulkin) with commitment issues. For Amy, though, it's more complicated, and that's where Faking It begins to seem less like a joke, as the shift in a relationship stirs up feelings that move her into the "questioning" column of LGBTQ."^[16]

Awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faking It.

• Official website
• Faking It at the Internet Movie Database