The series premiere of 'Hellcats' aired on Wednesday night on The CW. Described as 'Bring it On' meets '90210' I wasn't quite sure what to expect watching the pilot. I have a soft spot for 'Bring it On', but I wasn't sure how they could turn this into a successful television series. After watching the pilot however, it appears The CW has another teen hit to add to their list of successful dramas.
The show is set at 'Lancer University'. In the first few minutes of the pilot we are introduced to the campus, the football team and of course, the cheerleading squad 'Hellcats'. The squad is filled with young, pretty and athletic girls who can do things with their body that just shouldn't be possible. We then meet Marti (Alyson Michalka), the campus 'Goth' chick studying pre-law. Marti is forced to look for a new scholarship after her previous one is declined.
Marti meets the captain of the 'Hellcats', Savannah Munroe (Ashley Tisdale), while searching for a new scholarship. Marti pokes fun of cheerleaders calling them 'groupies' which starts a war of words between Marti and Savannah. Savannah is your every day girl next door cheerleader, she's pretty, popular and very girly. Ashley Tisdale fits this role very well.
Marti realises that she needs a scholarship so decides to audition to become a 'Hellcat' even though she had spent the previous fifteen minutes of the episode insulting them. At the auditions, we meet some of the other cheerleaders. We have Alice, an injured flyer, who seems to be the 'mean one' of the squad. We also meet a male cheerleader named Louis, who used to date Alice. Alice blames him for her injury. During this scene we are also introduced to the captain of the squad 'Vanessa'. She is passionate about her team and the members on it.
During the try-out, Marti has a hard time picking up the moves against the other girls so she decides to add her own style to the moves. This really does sound like 'Bring it On', but I can assure you, it is worth watching. Vanessa votes for Marti to become a member of the squad while Alice votes against. The decision is down to Savannah. She believes Marti has what it takes to make The Hellcats stand out against other teams so votes for her to be on the squad.
We then find out that due to budget costs, the team must place at Nationals in order to avoid having the competition side of their team cut. (Sound familiar to another popular all singing/dancing drama?) As the episode continues, I dislike Alice more and more. She runs into Marti in the showers, and tells her she won't be around for long. She also pulls the classic school girl prank and takes her towel and clothes leaving Marti alone in the shower. However, she is soon rescued by Louis. Do I sense a future love triangle?
After Marti has moved into the Hellcats dorm, she has a heart-to-heart with Savannah. She explains she had to quit gymnastics because of her mother. It becomes clear her mum has a drinking problem as she often showed up to Marti's rehearsals and performances drunk forcing Marti to quit. The mean girl, Alice, overhears and decides to go and tell Marti's mum about her new spot on the squad and invites her to watch their performances.By the end of the episode, Marti and Savannah seemed to have forgotten about their argument and seem to be friends. Alice on the other hands is obviously going to be the local trouble maker for this. She is clearly jealous.
Overall, I really enjoyed 'Hellcats' and will be watching next week. 'Bring it On' fans will love it. The cast fitted well with their roles and worked well together. I can tell this will become a new guilty pleasure show. 'Hellcats' will provide viewers with teenage drama while showing off what cheerleaders can really do. The show definitely belongs on The CW and fits the network very well.
Thanks for reading.
