Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: ABC, my so called life

My So-Called Life Spoke For Claire Danes; Devon Odessa on Legacy

My So-Called Life stars Claire Danes and Devon Odessa on the ABC teen drama series, the show's impact, and its lasting influence.

Teen dramas are a dime a dozen these days, especially with the diverse choices available these days with broadcast, cable, and streaming. One of the most revolutionary was ABC's My So-Called Life, a bold coming-of-age prime-time teen drama from Winnie Holzman. Unfortunately, the series only lasted 19 episodes, canceled after one season in its run from 1994-1995, but it earned a cult following, not to mention elevated its young stars Claire Danes, Wilson Cruz, A.J. Langer, Lisa Wilhoit, and Jared Leto. The series follows Angela Chase (Danes), a 15-year-old high school student who lives in the fictional Pittsburgh suburb of Three Rivers with her mother, Patty (Bess Armstrong), her father, Graham (Tom Irwin), and little sister, Danielle (Wilhoit). Each episode is narrated mostly by Angela as the series chronicles what the youths learn in their everyday life at home, school, and everything in between. Danes and Devon Odessa spoke to People on its 30th anniversary to reflect on the series' legacy and how it influenced their lives.

My So-Called Life: Claire Danes & Devon Odessa on ABC Series Legacy

"I don't think I had ever read a more accurate account of the experience that I was having at that moment," Danes said. "I was just so thrilled to have my internal life articulated for me. It's just an astonishing piece of writing … It was very intuitive. I didn't have to reach very far." She would go on a successful film career starring in memorable films, including Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Rainmaker (1997), Les Misérables (1998), The Mod Squad (1999), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Shopgirl (2005). The actress made her triumphant return to episodic TV on the Showtime action thriller series Homeland with memorable appearances in Netflix's Master of None, IFC's Portlandia, and FX's Fleishman Is in Trouble.

One of the pioneering aspects of My So-Called Life is the way it embraced LGBTQ issues, something largely still considered taboo for network television at the time. "We knew that it was such a good show, and everybody loved it and really appreciated it, but I don't know necessarily if the network understood what they had," Odessa, who played Angela's ex-best friend Sharon Cherski, said. Danes praised Holzman for laying the foundation for teen drama. "It is really a radical show," the Homeland star said "She created a genre of television that didn't exist before. Her work is so pleasure-inducing but also very deep and daring in these surprising ways. I think it was just so surprising to really enter the world of a teenage girl who was so earnest and so curious and thoughtful and sensitive"

For more, including comments from Holzman on the series inspiration and breaking stereotypes, Leto's role as Jordan Catalano, Cruz on how fans empathized with Rickie and the series takes young people's "lives seriously," how the series helps become a conversation starter between Langer and her kids, and how the cast keeps up, you can check out the entire interview.

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