2014 American romantic comedy television series
Faking It is an American romantic comedy television series that premiered on MTV on April 22, 2014, starring Rita Volk, Katie Stevens, Gregg Sulkin, Michael Willett, and Bailey De Young. The series was created by Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov. Carter Covington developed the series and serves as the executive producer. An eight-episode first season was ordered by MTV in October 2013. MTV announced a 10-episode second season set to premiere on September 23, 2014. 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 two would have a total of 20 episodes. The series features the first intersex main character on a television show, and also included television's first intersex character played by an intersex actor (Amanda Saenz).
In April 2015, it was announced that the second half of season two would air from August 31, 2015, as well as being renewed for a third season which premiered on March 15, 2016. In May 2016, MTV announced that "Faking It" had been cancelled after three seasons.
Plot.
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 and a rivalry with her new step-sister, Lauren (Bailey De Young), who discovers that they are faking it.
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, which premiered on September 23, 2014. This was later expanded to a twenty episode season on October 21, 2014.
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."
"The New York Times" wrote, ""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."
"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."
TV Fanatic said, "It could be an interesting twist for Amy to stop pretending to be gay and suddenly be pretending to be straight."
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."
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."
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."
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." "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."
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."
References.
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