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OTH star Chad Michael Murray can't play basketball, and All American star Daniel Ezra can't play football.
Hi, I'm Hannah, and I loooooooove teen dramas.
Fox
I also love behind-the-scenes facts. As such, I have gathered many fun BTS facts about teen shows over the years, and I am now willing to share my knowledge with the world.
MTV
Here are 57 teen show facts you may find fascinating!
1. Dawson's Creek had network TV's first gay kiss. In fact, when Greg Berlanti took over for Kevin Williamson as showrunner, including the kiss was one of the conditions he gave for accepting the job.
The WB
2. Euphoria was Angus Cloud's first acting role. He was discovered on the streets of New York.
HBO
3. It's also Hunter Schafer's first role. She had never acted before and had been planning a career in fashion.
HBO
4. The super intense Euphoria fight scene between Rue and her mom — which became a focal point of Rue's special episode — was improvised by Zendaya and Nika King.
HBO
Zendaya said of filming the scene, "Now, being a very calm person who doesn’t argue, who doesn’t [scream], I would never say those kinds of things. I don’t care how mad I am, I would never say certain things to my parent, or anybody. It’s not who I am. So, having to put myself in that kind of situation and say and do those things, that was one day when I felt sick. I was like, I was going to vomit, I was lightheaded."
5. In Teen Wolf, Stiles' iconic "Don't be such a sour wolf" line was improvised by Dylan O'Brien.
MTV
6. Kristen Bell basically came up with Veronica's style in Veronica Mars all on her own.
Robert Voets / Warner Bros. Television / Courtesy Everett Collection
She likened her combat boots, leather jackets, and dark palate to "armor" for the character.
7. And one of the reasons Hilary Duff got the role of Lizzie was her great outfits she wore to the auditions.
Walt Disney Enterprises / Courtesy: Everett Collection
8. Speaking of fashion...Jenny's style on Gossip Girl changed drastically because of the way star Taylor Momsen changed, adopting more of a punk rock style.
Giovanni Rufino / The CW / Courtesy Everett Collection,
Jenny's storyline was also impacted by these changes. "It was hard at a certain point to write for the old Jenny; we had to write for the new Taylor," producer Joshua Safran said of the change.
9. Raven came up with her iconic "vision face" in That's So Raven with the help of her dad.
Disney Channel
"The vision face was a work in progress for a while between me, my dad, and it was just a journey," Raven told BuzzFeed. "And then it became real easy and simple."
10. Raven is terrified of snakes, and had a lot of issues filming Corey's birthday episode of That's So Raven, where she had to hold a snake.
Disney Channel
11. One more That's So Raven fact: Raven and Lindsay Lohan were roommates while some of the show was filming.
Gregg Deguire / WireImage via Getty Images
“She paid rent, and she was there probably three times,” Raven said of their time living together. “She had her clothes in the apartment we were supposed to live in together.”
12. Speaking of LiLo — she was in the running to play Lizzie on Lizzie McGuire.
Charles Sykes/Bravo / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images, Walt Disney Enterprises / Courtesy: Everett Collection
14. And the “Prom-ises, Prom-ises" episode of Boy Meets World was actually deemed too controversial for Disney.
ABC
The episode aired on ABC, but not when the show went into syndication on Disney Channel. It featured Corey and Topanga considering having sex after prom. Another episode tackling sex-related themes, "The Truth About Honesty," was also not aired on Disney Channel, though it is on Disney+.
15. Along with the episode "If You Can’t Be With the One You Love.”
ABC
Like "Prom-ises, Prom-ises," this episode was deemed not appropriate for Disney Channel. In the episode, Corey and Shawn get drunk, which starts to become a habit for Shawn. When Angela tries to talk to him about it, he pushes her up against the wall. This episode is available on Disney+.
16. Another "banned" teen episode? The Degrassi: The Next Generation, “Accidents Will Happen.”
The N
It aired in Canada, but didn't air in the US until two years later due to its controversial abortion storyline.
17. The Sex Education scene when Rahim clogs the bus toilet and puts his poop in a sock he throws out the window took 20 takes because everyone kept laughing.
Netflix
18. Also, the "poop" was made of chocolate mousse and Weetabix — Asa Butterfield, AKA Otis, tried some, calling it "alright."
Netflix
20. The whole storyline on Riverdale where Jughead "died" only happened 'cause Cole Sprouse was too cold to film a scene.
The CW
21. On the other hand, KJ Apa was so committed to the scene where he punched through ice to rescue Cheryl on Riverdale that he broke his hand.
The CW
22. After a traumatic experience as a kid, Madelaine Petsch became terrified of open bodies of water. When she auditioned for Riverdale, she had no idea she'd have to film so many scenes in/under water — however, she said this helped her conquer her fear.
23. During Anya's heartbreaking monologue about death in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "The Body," Emma Caulfield said, the only thing she was thinking about was how much she had to go to the bathroom.
The WB
24. In Gilmore Girls, Alexis Bledel never actually drank coffee (she doesn't like the taste) — her coffee cups were filled with Coke instead.
The WB
25. To prank Miley, in the first kiss scene between her and Jake Ryan on Hannah Montana, the prop guy kept setting off a fart machine.
Disney Channel
26. Shailene Woodley actually had kind of a lot of trouble playing Amy on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Freeform
Woodley revealed she was happy to be free from her contract when the show ended, stating that while she was grateful for her years on the show, "Towards the end, morally, the things that we were preaching on that show weren't really aligned with my own integrity. So that was a bit hard to show up to work every day knowing that we were going to project all of these themes to thousands — millions — of young adults across the country, when in fact they weren't what I would like to be sending out."
27. As did Blake Lively as Serena on Gossip Girl.
The CW
Lively called playing Serena "personally compromising," expressing concern about the message her character sent out. “I would not be proud to be the person who gave someone the cocaine that made them overdose and then shot someone and slept with someone else’s boyfriend," she said.
28. And Penn Badgley didn't approve of making Dan Gossip Girl.
29. It's long been rumored that much of the Glee cast also disliked being on the show, and was essentially confirmed by stars Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz. McHale said he was the "last to break," revealing his breaking point was "What Does The Fox Say?"
Fox
Ushkowitz seemed to suggest her breaking point was having to do the rap in "Gangnam Style."
30. Nick Jonas said the second season of JONAS was the JoBros' biggest regret.
Eric McCandless / Disney Channel / courtesy Everett Collection
“We shouldn’t have done that. It really stunted our growth, you know? I feel like it was just a bad move. ... It was just not the time. Literally, we couldn’t evolve because of it,” he said. Joe also called the show "not good" and that it felt too young for them, and Kevin agreed that the second season especially was not a fit for them, saying it fed into people seeing them as a joke.
31. In the opening credits of Victorious, Victoria Justice really did almost drop the gold mic. The shot made it in.
Nickelodeon
32. Errol Flynn had cut his iconic curly hair by the time he returned for the finale of Zoey 101 — so in the last episode, he's actually wearing a wig.
Nickelodeon
33. In the Zoey 101 episode "The Curse of PCA," the whole plot with Zoey with a bucket on her head was written because star Jamie Lynn didn't have time to shoot all the scenes they needed her for. That's not even her under the bucket.
Nickelodeon
34. Sasha Pieterse, who played 15-year-old Alison, was only 12 when the pilot for Pretty Little Liars began shooting.
Freeform
35. Bianca Lawson, in contrast, was 31 — she actually played a teenager for two decades.
Freeform
36. Adam Brody bombed his The O.C. audition, and show creator Josh Schwartz didn't want to cast him.
WB / Courtesy: Everett Collection
He hadn't learned his lines for the original audition. The casting director convinced Schwartz to let him read again — this time he knew his lines, and was cast.
37. Chad Michael Murray could've played Ryan on The O.C. — he turned it down to play Lucas on basketball drama One Tree hill instead.
Paul Archuleta / Getty Images, WB / Courtesy: Everett Collection
38. One Tree Hill's creator originally wanted Chad Michael Murray to play Nathan.
Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
However, Murray wanted to play Lucas.
39. Chad Michael Murray is super bad at basketball irl — but James Lafferty had played in high school.
The WB / The CW
40. Similarly, All-American star Daniel Ezra can't play football.
Ray Mickshaw / CW / courtesy Everett Collection
However, he's gotten better since starting on the show.
41. The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz feels bad for killing Marissa.
Fox
In an interview with MTV, Schwartz called the decision to kill off Marissa "complicated" and explained, "There were a lot of factors involved, and it was something we really wrestled with. There were a lot of reasons, both creative and cynical." He also added that the fanbase's distraught reaction to the controversial character's death surprised him.
42. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Marti Noxon (who had taken over for Joss in Season 6) regrets killing off Tara.
UPN
Tara was one-half of one of the first lesbian couples on mainstream TV. The death has been the subject of controversy and is often cited as a part of the "bury your gays" trope. Noxon has addressed the dark season, saying she's wondered whether Tara really needed to die.
43. Showrunner Kevin Williamson also wasn't sold on Pacey and Joey ending up together in Dawson's Creek.
The WB
“I was a Dawson/Joey diehard,” Williamson told Entertainment Weekly. “It was always going to be Dawson and Joey. I don’t care how romantic things got between Joey and Pacey. It was going to be Dawson and Joey, always. Until I started writing it. And then once I started, I even wrote it Dawson and Joey.” However, the idea of Joey ending up with Pacey kept nagging at him, and he said that once he wrote that version, it just felt right.
44. He was also The Vampire Diaries' showrunner, and wanted Elena and Stefan to end up together. Williamson told Deadline, “I always thought it would be Stefan and Elena. They were sort of the anchor of the show, but because we lost Elena in Season 6, we couldn’t go back."
The CW
He continued, "You know Nina could only come back for one episode — maybe if she had came back for the whole season, we could even have warped back towards that, but you can’t just do it in 42 minutes.”
45. Paul Wesley and Ian Somerholder both wanted their characters to die at the end of The Vampire Diaries.
46. Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley actually didn't like each other when they started filming The Vampire Diaries, despite playing love interests.
Alan Markfield / CW / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Dobrev said they "despised each other," though they later became good friends.
47. Shanae Grimes and AnnaLynne McCord also famously didn't get along on the set of 90210. However, now they're friends, with McCord saying Grimes called her right when the show was ending, sad that it was over.
49. And Zach Roerig read for Stefan, Damon, and Tyler before being cast as Matt on The Vampire Diaries.
51. Producers actually liked him so much, they wrote the role of Kurt just for him.
Jordin Althaus/Fox / courtesy Everett Collection
52. Similarly, Lisa Weil originally auditioned for Rory on Gilmore Girls — producers then created the role of Paris for her!
Warner Bros./Everett Collection
53. Alisha Boe originally auditioned for Hannah in 13 Reasons Why before being cast as Jessica.
Beth Dubber / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection
54. Sarah Michelle Gellar originally auditioned for Cordelia on Buffy the Vampire Slayer — and Charisma Carpenter auditioned for Buffy.
James Sorenson / 20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
Of course, Gellar ended up being cast as Buffy, while Carpenter was cast as mean girl Cordelia.
55. When Dylan O'Brien auditioned for Teen Wolf, his resume was just two Youtube links.
56. Dianna Agron was cast as Quinn on Glee the night before the pilot started filming.
Adam Rose / Fox / courtesy Everett Collection
57. And finally, Glee used real slushees. It stained the cast's bodies and would only come off with shaving cream.
Fox
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