Have you ever watched the 90s TV series My So-Called Life? The show’s just been added to Disney’s new add-on subscription service Disney Star, giving a whole new generation of people a chance to see the groundbreaking series.
The show only ran for one season from 1994 to 1995, but it was critically acclaimed and developed a cult following. Also many of the cast members have gone on to have big careers over the following quarter of a century since the show was on air.
Claire Danes was the star of the show, and Wilson Cruz and Jared Leto were also in the teenage cast. Jeff Perry, who went on to appear in Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal is also on the show.
The show focusses on teenager Angela Chase and her high school social circle. The show tackles some serious topics including homophobia, child abuse, alcoholism, homelessness, censorship and drug use. It shows people’s teenage years as being a confusing and stressful time rather than a fun period of life.
Claire Danes won a Golden Globe for her work on the show, so it was a bit of a surprise when it was cancelled after just one year. Danes went on to star in Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet and made a string of movies including The Rainmaker, Brokedown Palace, The Hours and Terminator 3. She returned to the small screen to star in eight seasons of Homeland.
For Wilson Cruz, the series was his break into the entertainment industry. With his role as Enrique ‘Ricky’ Vasquez he became the first openly gay actor to be playing a gay character in a leading role in a TV series. After the series wrapped Cruz went on to appear in the Broadway production of Rent, and appeared on the TV shows The West Wing and Noah’s Ark. Cruz can currently been seen in the series Star Trek Discovery.
Jared Leto plays brooding bad boy Jordan Catalano in My So-Called Life, in the two and half decades since the show debuted he’s appeared in over 30 films, as well as being the lead vocalist of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Leto won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in the 2013 film The Dallas Buyer’s Club where he played Rayon, a HIV-positive transgender woman.
Some critics have listed My So-Called Life as one of the greatest television dramas of all time, check it out on Disney Star.
OIP Staff
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