Destination “Rockville, CA”

Posted on February 25, 2009 |

TV wunderkind Josh Schwartz, the mastermind behind “The O.C.“, “Chuck” and
“Gossip Girl” teamed up with Alexandra Patsavas, his music supervisor on
most of his series to create a new web series titled “Rockville, CA“.

the show in a nutshell:

A group of twentysomethings from diverse backgrounds gather regularly to
hear their favorite up-and-coming bands, blow off steam, fall in love with
the wrong people, and then talk about how they’ve fallen in love with the
wrong people. The series not only explores characters’ interactions with
one another, but also the way in which they relate to music And to Club
Rockville itself.

Now, I’m a sucker for TV series where music is it’s central theme.

You might remember such gems as 2001’s “Dead Last“, 2002’s “My Guide To
Becoming A Rock Star“, 2006’s “Love Monkey” and last year’s “Z Rock“.

You do know what all these series have in common? they all get shitcanned
after a season’s worth of episodes or they get canceled before even
finishing their runs.

For some reason, middle america doesn’t like watching twentysomethings get
their music on.

So, Josh wisely decided to move this project on the interweb. Some web series
have found success on the net. Most notably Marshall Herskovitz / Edward Zwick
series “Quarterlife” which is another show based on the lives of twentysomethings.

“Rockville, CA” will debut online March 17 on TheWB.com website. 20 episodes in all at a running length of 4 to 6 minutes each. A series based in a rock club (shot in the well known L.A. venue the Echoplex) would surely feature live performances and wouldn’t you know it, you’ll get to see one band perform live per episode.

Here’s the list:

Kaiser Chiefs, Phantom Planet, The Duke Spirit, Eagles Of Death Metal,
Earlimart, Frightened Rabbit, The Kooks, The Little Ones, Lykke Li,
Nic Stai, Passion Pit, White Lies, Anya Marina, Bishop Allen,
The Broken West, Cass McCombs, Lights, Oppenheimer,
The Republic Tigers and Travis.

Not a bad lineup.

Alot of those bands are signed to Alexandra’s own label Chop Shop Records.
Ahhhh … ain’t synergy a beautiful thing?

After an episode is posted online, you’ll be able to watch the band featured in said episode being interviewed and you’ll be able to watch their live “Rockville” set in it’s entirety.

From looking at the cast credits, the only 2 names I recognized are Ryan Hansen who
plays “The Douche” in the trailer who played Dick Casablancas on “Veronica Mars“,
that series douchebag. Don’t know what that says about the guy that he’s only able
to find roles playing assholes. Also Natalie Morales a.k.a. Wendy Watson (“Dub Dub”
to her friends) on last year’s ABC Family little seen but oh so awesome series
“The Middleman“.

This show is pretty much if “The O.C.” spent their entire waking moments in
“The Bait Shop”.

You’ll get all the pre-requisite character types that Schwartz is so fond of
in his productions. from the trailer alone, it does look a bit cheesy, the whole music business side of things happening at the club will merely be of use as the background for the inevitable will they or won’t they hook up scenario between the two leads … but the live performances alone may make me wanna log on.

Believe in the Schwartz.

That’s my mantra for this new show. He brought the goods with The O.C.’s first season
and currently with “Chuck“, who knows he might surprise us again.

Here’s the trailer:

The official website: www.rockvilleca.com

Sadly, us non-americans won’t be able to watch it as the WB.com site blocks
out foreigners but with the interweb being what it is, surely will be able
to find a way to catch it none the less.

And a few Schwartz interviews about the show:

L.A. Times
Paste Magazine
Premiumhollywood.com

Bookmark This :

Category: TV
Tags: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Comments

3 Responses to “Destination “Rockville, CA””

  1. janet
    February 27th, 2009 @ 3:02 pm

    Though the bands’ music is used more as a theme throughout the show, the site (http://www.rockvilleca.com/) will have two live performances from each band available for streaming, so if you don’t think you can stomach the cheesiness of it all, that’s an option.

    You can also sign up for the newsletter there which will have giveaways, tour information, etc.

  2. PaulL
    February 27th, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

    I loves me some fromage.

    The Cheez Whizier the better.

    Believing in the Schwartz. That’s what I’ll do.

    Just found out today, there’s gonna be a Chop Shop Records showcase at SXSW.

    Celebrating all things “Rockville”. I’m adding this shinding to my schedule. Should be a hoot.

  3. jay
    March 6th, 2009 @ 5:57 pm

    The promo is terrible. I cant believe these bands are doing this. Isnt that what made ashlee simpson a laughing stock? When did lip synching become ok? Booo to these bands.

Leave a Reply