My So-Called Life was a teen drama series that aired from 1994 to 1995 on ABC. According to Deadline, the executive producer of the series Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai) took to X/Twitter to reminisce about the series. In an X/Twitter thread with multiple posts, Zwick spoke about the writers, cast, and how My So-Called Life came to be.
His first post in the thread, which can be viewed below, stated, “Kristy McNichol played ‘Buddy,’ an adolescent girl on ABC-TV’s ‘Family.’ I’d write surly teenage dialogue and get network notes on my scripts with the initials N.O.B. meaning ‘Not Our Buddy.’ I vowed someday I’d get to portray real adolescence.”
He then talked about fellow executive producer Marshall Herskovitz (Jack the Bear, Dangerous Beauty), stating in a post below, “Marshall wrote a provocative pilot for Showtime called ‘Secret Seventeen’ about unruly, unapologetic, wised-up, highly sexualized teenagers in mall culture. The network barely read it and summarily passed. He vowed someday he’d get to portray real adolescence.”
He also praised the creator of the series Winnie Holzman (Thirtysomething, Once and Again), explaining, “Some writers have a way of creating a voice at once strikingly original and utterly familiar. As an exercise she began writing Angela’s journal. When we read it we realized she was already writing the pilot. For extra authenticity, she went to teach at a middle-school.”
His following posts in the thread focused on the cast of the show, including Claire Danes (Stardust, Homeland), who played Angela Chase. In relation to Claire, he stated, “She was fourteen when we met her. Her audition was mind-blowing. There are certain actors so preternaturally gifted it takes your breath away. What they know simply can’t be taught. One problem: no one had ever done an hour drama about a teenager with a real teenager.”
He went more in-depth on what it was like with a cast full of teenagers: “California has strict child labor laws governing the number of hours a minor can work each day. That meant reconceiving the show. Like many such compromises in series TV, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It became an ensemble.”
Zwick created two posts regarding Jared Leto (Morbius, Suicide Squad), who played Jordan Catalano, and Wilson Cruz (Coffee Date, Joyride), who played Rickie Vasquez. In his post about Leto, he stated, “Jared was older. A movie star in the making, but also sweet and unpretentious. He was joined by Devon & AJ as Angela’s besties, and of course the forever yearning Devon Gummersall. Meanwhile, Graham and Patty’s marriage cast an unexpectedly dark shadow over Angela’s world.”
In relation to Cruz, he shared, ” Winnie’s first draft described Rickie Valdez as lovable, Puerto Rican, and gay. Impossible to find, we thought. And then Wilson Cruz walked in. The first openly gay teenager to play an openly gay character on network TV, he became a role model for countless others.”
Both posts about Leto and Cruz can be viewed below.
In addition, he also shared the struggles the series had with the network, explaining, “Despite admitting how much the show meant to their daughters and to a rabidly devoted fan base, the network refused to see the culture as it was changing around them. Their infamous last words: ‘Teenagers just aren’t an important market for our advertisers.'”
In his second to last post, he explained, “MTV picked up the show and ran it endlessly in wildly successful marathons. There’s a famous exchange between Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: Mayer wanted to buy the rights to Gone with the Wind. ‘Forget it, L.B.,’ said Thalberg. ‘No Civil War movie ever made a nickel.'”
Zwick ended the thread with a post about the show’s impact. He stated, “To this day every interesting woman I meet between ages 35 and 50 gets this glazed look at the mention of the show – the equivalent of Taylor Swift fans who feel ‘seen’ by her songs and know all the words. Men, too. In a way, we are all fifteen year-old girls.”
The series can be streamed on Hulu.