15th Anniversary of South Of Nowhere

Dear South of Nowhere fans,

 My friend Travis, the keeper of the flame for all things South of Nowhere, informed me that today is the fifteenth anniversary of the airing of the first episode! Wow?  I often say that my days are long, but the years travel quickly and today it feels particularly true. This marking of time floods me with memories, some of which feel very recent while others feel as if they were more dreams than the reality that took place.

 I remember hearing the words of Ashley when we first see her on the first episode. Angry, late for class, slamming her locker to reveal a new, innocent kid in town, Spencer.  Spencer tries to help her and ends up spilling Ashley’s coffee. Ashley, with her big hair, heavy make-up and “I DARE YOU NOT TO LOOK” fashion style, explodes; “You always create a disaster wherever you go?”.

 That scene defines the two leads and the series for me. In that moment, Ashley is powerful, unpredictable, the definition off teen angst and generally pissed off at the world. Spencer is innocent, confident, curious and way more centered and comfortable in who she is then Ashley.  As Ashley stomps off, Spencer, so pure and sweet, looks around this new school in a new city and wonders “WTF?”.

 I remember our producers, Gary and Greg, taking me to an abandoned juvenile detention center sixty miles outside of Los Angeles trying to convince me that it could be cleaned up to become the home for the series.  The place hadn’t been opened in decades, walls falling down, dead lawns, broken down out buildings. It was a disaster. I was against it, but they were right. It was a perfect place to film our show.

 I remember great directors and writers, many who have gone on to accomplish amazing things in their careers, pushing the performances beyond the purified, expected, perfect world of teen shows that were being made at that time and telling stories that were about race, abortion, broken homes, failed religious beliefs. Themes that our audience was living but television wasn’t exploring for this audience.

  I remember telling stories of great joy. First love, interracial love, out of control parties, and waking up in strange places with people they knew or didn’t wondering “WTF happened last night?” The joy of youth and its impatience, emotional intensity and wonderment was the secret sauce of the series.  No matter what was happening with our characters, life was in motion. And it was fun. 

 Through its series run the issues, conflicts, failures and success were all seen through and dealt with our young characters. There was no adult rescuing.  The parents of Ashley were always there for the Carlin clan, but they never were a way out. Our kids had to fix their own complications.

 I remember Mr. and Mrs. Carlin who I believe to be the first real parents in a teen drama. They were messy and imperfect, driven as much by fear as they were hope of where their lives were headed, moving from small town Ohio to big city California. On introduction, the Carlins were the perfect parents, on closer inspection, they were perfectly human.

I remember the network, The N, coming to LA (they were from New York) and meeting the cast on set.  These executives were warm, caring and curious. I had never experienced such help and support from a network for a series.

 I remember a letter from a Hollywood talent manager who quoted the bible, telling me what I was making was evil. I remember my mother telling me that God loves all of us. I remember episodes with a drive by shooting, with the loss of Chelsea’s baby and with Ashley trying to make sense of her and her fathers’ relationship.  The pain we cause each other brought tears to my eyes.  I also remember tears of joy when Ashley and Spencer ditched school and went to the beach, when Mrs. Carlin showed up at a pride parade to support her daughter.

 I remember the scene when Ashley got up to leave Spencer at the bleachers in the very first episode. Spencer sees Ashley’s’ tattoo on the small of her back.  It was Spencer’s first interest in the same sex. Innocent, teasing, immediate. And Spencer, in a matter of seconds, went through so many emotions; Curiosity, surprise, wonderment and finally, a smile. The subtlest of smiles that made the world wonder, as she did, what was next.

 The world has changed since then. There are now many shows featuring teens dealing with sexual identity, gender identity. Even I am writing a Trans show with a very talented young lady from the LGBTG+ community. It is about who we are as opposed to who we are supposed to be. The world has changed and a lot for the better.

 We live in a world now that has more constitutional rights for same sex couples. Acceptance of being gay is much more part of our culture and national conversation than it was when we launched our series.  But it seems more divided than I remember it being fifteen years ago. Part of our society trades in racism, fear, homophobia and xenophobia. Systemic atrocities geared at race, gender and economic status are being discovered and instead of being shut down, they are being debated or reinforced. Laws of country are being challenged dealing with the basic human rights we all have. Everybody seems to have to be right, no matter the wrong their right does to others.  Perhaps it is the madness of the pandemic or the uncertainty of where the world is headed that makes people only see their own, singular, point of view. Perhaps it is the fear of having to deal with “different” that shows the flaws in our own selves. 

 I don’t have answers, but I do know that South of Nowhere gave a voice to those that didn’t have one. And that voice wasn’t going to be challenged as right or wrong. It just had to be true and from the heart. As when Spencer asks Ashley; “Are you gay?” and Ashley answers with absolute truth and a glint of curiosity her eyes “I’m not into labels.”   That was the voice of South, no judgement, no labels, just human.

 I have loved the experience of the series and all of the letters, texts and emails from the viewers who came out to their parents while watching the show together, or that they felt safer knowing there were other kids like them, living their stories, changing their lives. I can only say Thank you to South of Nowhere for changing my life.

Love and respect,

Tom Lynch

Creator

South of Nowhere