At last, a happy surprise from the new TV season.
Megan (JoAnna Garcia) isn't having a good day; her apartment's been burned out and she's been fired from her magazine job. Her editor, though, has given her a promising job lead that could give Megan the entree she's always wanted into the world of the filthy rich. Off to Palm Beach she goes to meet Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer), a business tycoon ("My husband left me a small cosmetics company; I turned it into a large cosmetics company.") who needs a tutor for her twin granddaughters, Sage and Rose Baker (Ashley Newbrough and Lucy Kate Hale). If Megan can get the girls' grades up enough that they are admitted to Duke University, Laurel promises to pay off her remaining college loans.
Megan is not entirely unfamiliar with this part of Florida; her father and sister, from whom she has been estranged for several years, live nearby, as does an old boyfriend, Charlie (Michael Cassidy). Charlie immediately sets his sights on winning Megan back, but he's going to have competition from Will (Brian Hallisay), who lives next door to the Limoges estate.
As for the tutoring job, it's going to be a challenge. Sage and Rose are used to goofing off as they choose -- Laurel's fired three tutors already -- and don't have much enthusiasm for The Great Gatsby.
The cast is uniformly attractive and charming; Garcia in particular has an offbeat way with a line, and Archer delivers all of her diva-bitch lines with great panache. The first episode is remarkably efficient in introducing its many characters (by the end, it's even managed to give the twins into distinguishable personalities) and plotlines. It's a bit overstuffed, perhaps, but I hope that without so much exposition to take care of, future episodes will be able to breathe a bit more.
If you want comparisons to other shows, think of this as Gilmore Girls meets Gossip Girls. It should be a very good fit with 90210, and it gives the CW the strongest one-night lineup it's yet had.
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