The Carrie Diaries (TV Show)

I finished reading The Carrie Diaries not too long ago, so I decided to give the tv series a chance. I knew going in that the show would be nothing like the book and hence prepared to suffer my usual disappointment. My overall reaction is a love/hate for the show.

I love that I get a different perspective Carrie Bradshaw’s life before all the Manhattan glam. She’s a sweet 16 year old in high school in a small Connecticut town. Her social group is small but connected and her family is coping with her mother’s loss and adjusting to a new family setting. Love it!

Luckily, the supporting actors are on their game! Ellen Wong (Mouse), Katie Findlay (Maggie) and Freema Agyeman (Larissa) are on point with their acting. They make the show worth watching. They really bring the entertainment aspect to the show. Even Tom and Dorrit, Carries family, are portrayed. And I’m so happy the deleted Missy, Carries other younger sister; she was just a shadow figure.

I hate, hate, hate the acting. AnnaSophia Robb (Carrie) is cute but her acting is not strong. Her facial expressions are lacking and she has ZERO chemistry with Austin Butler who plays her love interest Sebastian Kydd. I found myself rolling my eyes every time they were together. Cheap, cliché lines that make me groan with contempt. Brendan Dooling (Walt) needs a little work too; he looks like he’s acting. I want to believe what’s happening on the screen. I also don’t care for the excessive drinking especially since the basis of the show is about high school students. One last thing! I don't like the wig...they put a blond curly poofy wig on Robb to give her the signature Carrie look, FAIL!

Right now I’m undecided about watching season 2. Season 1 ended on some drama so I may watch the first episode to get an idea of how the season runs. The word is their bringing Samatha Jones’ character into play; it might be interesting (or disappointing) to see how they write her character into the show. You can watch season 1 free here.