When Gossip Girl premiered in 2007, it didn’t take long for audiences to become obsessed with the scandalous lives of the Upper East Side elite. Between designer wardrobes, vicious social rivalries, and messy romantic entanglements, the CW struck television gold. Naturally, the network wanted to recreate that success. Enter Privileged, a forgotten teen drama that arrived in 2008 with wealthy teenagers and family secrets.
Starring JoAnna Garcia as Megan Smith, the series followed a Yale-educated aspiring journalist whose career takes an unexpected detour when she loses her job and accepts a position tutoring two wealthy teenage sisters in Palm Beach, Florida. Rose (Lucy Hale) and Sage Baker (Ashley Newbrough) are the rebellious granddaughters of cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer). Megan’s assignment is simple enough: get the girls into Duke University. Unfortunately, convincing two spoiled socialites to open a textbook proves considerably harder than navigating the New York tabloid scene.
Before ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ Lucy Hale Starred in This Forgotten CW Teen Drama
Based on Zoey Dean’s novel How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, Privileged had all the ingredients of a quintessential teen CW production. There were sprawling mansions, attractive young people, complicated love triangles, and enough designer clothing to make Paris Hilton jealous.
However, unlike Gossip Girl, which reveled in the cruel politics of Manhattan high society, Privileged took a slightly softer approach. Its central character was an outsider looking into a world of extraordinary wealth rather than another socialite fighting to maintain her position at the top.
That distinction gave the show some unexpected charm. Garcia brought an approachable, occasionally neurotic energy to Megan, while Hale and Newbrough made a convincing pair of privileged teenagers who could turn practically anything into a competition. The series also benefited from its connection to the creative team behind Gilmore Girls, giving its otherwise familiar premise a little more heart and humor.
Unfortunately, charm and expensive-looking production design weren’t enough to keep viewers around. Despite a promising premise, Privileged struggled to find an audience and the CW canceled it after just one season. It’s 18 episodes wrapped up in February 2009, leaving plenty of unanswered questions about what might have happened next.
Television networks were desperate to find the next Blair Waldorf, but their failure in doing so proves just how one-of-a-kind Leighton Meester really is. Privileged’s Palm Beach mansions and spoiled teenage protagonists captured the same fascination with wealth that made Gossip Girl a phenomenon, even if it never quite reached the same heights.
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