Angela Chase (Claire Danes) is a nice girl from a nice family. Her parents (Tom Irwin, Bess Armstrong) are nice and her younger sister is desperate for attention. She has nice friends like Sharon Cherski (Devon Odessa). Brian Krakow (Devon Gummersall) has a crush on her. Her nice existence changes when she gets new friends, Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer) and her bi best friend Rickie Vasquez (Wilson Cruz). Angela is drawn to mysterious Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto).
This is the definition of a cult hit and the prime example of the folly of TV execs. Although it was low rated (for its times), its young audience would have today's TV execs drooling. For its times and on network TV, it was a realistic teen drama. Angela with her inner monologues lay bare her emotional turmoil. The show isn't flashy. It's different from its contemporary network teen fare. It was angst teen drama ahead of its time. It didn't hurt to have a great Claire Danes to lead it with her Jared Leto crush. Even then, her star power was undeniable.
This is the definition of a cult hit and the prime example of the folly of TV execs. Although it was low rated (for its times), its young audience would have today's TV execs drooling. For its times and on network TV, it was a realistic teen drama. Angela with her inner monologues lay bare her emotional turmoil. The show isn't flashy. It's different from its contemporary network teen fare. It was angst teen drama ahead of its time. It didn't hurt to have a great Claire Danes to lead it with her Jared Leto crush. Even then, her star power was undeniable.