Their Major Is Alienation

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FRANK OCKENFELS--WARNER BROS.

ROSWELL (WB)

But can adults create a realistic high school show? Does anyone want them to? High school shows succeed by offering sexy fantasies (Dawson) or outlandish stories that ring psychologically true (Buffy). What may save Popular is not its pandering to hipness but its willingness to skewer social haves and have-nots and its satiric, Heathers-ish flourishes (the popular girls, e.g., hang out in a velvety school powder room called "the Novak," as in Kim). Freaks, a sweet and funny character study, is probably the "realest" of the bunch and the best fall drama aimed at any demographic. But it is two decades removed from the way teens live now, with good reason: "We couldn't recreate high school today," creator Paul Feig cheerfully concedes. "All the slang would be 10 years old."

The irony is that Freaks, the least strenuously hip of the shows, may stand the strongest chance of controversy. The "freaks" of the title are Led Zeppelin-listening Midwestern burnouts who smoke--not just tobacco, of course. "The show will never be pro pot," executive producer Judd Apatow avers. "But every time a kid smokes pot, you can't show him coughing and retching and losing his mind."

BRUCE MACAULAY--FOX

MANCHESTER PREP (Fox)

The variety of genres the high school-show class of '99 covers may be attempts to stand out in a crowded field. Garth Ancier, president of entertainment at NBC, helped set off the teen explosion while he was programming head at the WB, but says a shakeout could be due. "Generally, the originators of these trends succeed, and maybe one copy." Perhaps for this reason, it is difficult to get high school-drama creators to admit they're creating high school dramas. Freaks, NBC insists, aims more "mature"; Popular, says its co-creator Murphy, is "a comedy...we don't look at this as a high school show." Manchester Prep is Dynasty; Roswell is Beauty and the Beast.

One doubts, however, that the teen connections hurt at the pitch meetings. Three seasons ago, Katims' wonderful Relativity had class consciousness, star-crossed lovers and an odd, appealing ensemble--and it bombed. This year the WB gave Roswell a 22-episode commitment. Explains WB entertainment president Susanne Daniels: "What Relativity lacked in a hook or an angle, Roswell offers in spades." That and a gold-plated audience. Much has been made of TV's slavish emphasis on the youth demographic (which makes young-skewing shows "hot" out of proportion to their total ratings), but it could at best allow a talented writer to succeed with a well-crafted story of limited appeal. As long as he or she learns how to tell it through 16-year-olds in tight jeans.