With Teen Mom-related programs seemingly on the way out, MTV is finding other ways to push the envelope: Upcoming scripted drama Faking It introduces two high-school BFFs, Amy and Karma, who are inaccurately outed as lesbians. They decide to go along with the lie because it’s earned them the popularity they desired.
Here’s MTV’s official description…
‘Faking It’ is a new romantic comedy about two best friends who love each other — in slightly different ways. After numerous failed attempts to become popular, the girls are mistakenly outed as lesbians, which launches them to instant celebrity status. Seduced by their newfound fame, Karma and Amy decide to keep up their romantic ruse.
Watch the Faking It trailer, which premiered on Buzzfeed and MTV today.
The plot line, which seems a heckuva lot like the real-life strategy t.A.T.u. used, has quickly attracted criticism from all sides. Besides those who are upset by the promotion of a gay relationship, others say it mocks the struggles of real LGBT youth: According to a 2009 survey from the Centers for Disease Control, 4-in-5 LGBT junior high or high school students say they’ve been verbally harassed at school. (As Faking It depicts it, coming out as lesbians instantly makes Karma and Amy Homecoming Queen contenders.)
In fact, showrunner Carter Covington told Buzzfeed he was offended upon learning about the premise — back came to love the narrative.
“I think we’ve handled the subject matter in way that gives the show way more resonance,” said Carter, who is gay.
In a previous interview, Carter dismissed the potential controversy because he believes the target audience is more accepting.
“I feel like for teenagers these days and for the MTV audience, the show is not going to be controversial,” he said during the Television Critics Association press tour in January. “It’s going to be an exaggerated version but very much based on the world they live in now… I think we carry this expectation that the world stays the same and it really doesn’t.”
Faking It premieres on MTV on Tuesday, April 22 at 10:30/9:30c.
