"Dirt" (2007) TV series 2007-2008

Creator:

Matthew Carnahan

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Fame has its price. She's here to collect.

Plot:

A tabloid editor and her photographer try to make their way in the world of celebrity journalism.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Celebrity | Tabloid | Paparazzi | Los Angeles California

Cast

Courteney Cox	...	Lucy Spiller (26 episodes, 2007-2008)
Ian Hart	...	Don Konkey (20 episodes, 2007-2008)
Josh Stewart	...	Holt McLaren (20 episodes, 2007-2008)
Alexandra Breckenridge	...	Willa McPherson (20 episodes, 2007-2008)
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Brent Barrow / ... (16 episodes, 2007-2008)
Will McCormack	...	Leo Spiller (15 episodes, 2007-2008)
Laura Allen	...	Julia Mallory (14 episodes, 2007-2008)
Shauna Stoddart	...	Terry (12 episodes, 2007-2008)
Alexi Wasser	...	Naomi (11 episodes, 2007-2008)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Hungary:16 | Australia:MA (some episodes)

Company:

Coquette Productions

Sexy, Sleazy, and Undeniably Entertaining

From FX, the guys that brought you the trashy-but-great "Nip/Tuck", comes "Dirt", also trashy and great, a show that attempts to show viewers the dark side of Hollywood and how being a celebrity isn't the happy ending we all think it is.

"Dirt" stars Courteney Cox (who is also an executive producer) as Lucy Spiller, the ruthless editor of two tabloids, 'Drrt' and 'Now'. She will not print gossip, however. As she says at the beginning of the pilot episode "Gossip leads to lawsuits." She will only print fact, and there must be photos to accompany the story.

For that part of the job, Lucy relies on Don Konkey (Ian Hart), a schizophrenic photographer who hears voices as he works. Don is very loyal to Lucy, and Don is one of the only people Lucy is actually honest and nice to. They are good friends and have worked together since college newspaper days.

After the introduction to Lucy, Don, their boss (Timothy Bottoms), and certain others who work at 'Drrt' and 'Now', we meet Prince Tyreese, played by Rick Fox (TV's "Oz" and "One Tree Hill"), a married professional basketball player who has a one night stand with a prostitute, and then is shocked when he receives photos of himself and the hooker in the mail. We don't get to see how Tyreese reacts to this in the pilot, but I am sure he will probably take a few jabs at Don, who photographed the affair.

Lucy is not sure if she wants to run the photos of Tyreese and the hooker, so she diverts herself by sinking her claws into Holt McClaren, a struggling actor who is living in the shadow of his more famous girlfriend, Julia (Laura Allen). Holt is approached by Don, and they strike a deal: Holt will get good press in Lucy's magazines in exchange for gossip. Holt agrees, and ends up selling out Julia's best friend, Kira (Shannyn Sossamon) by telling Don that she is pregnant. The story runs in 'Now', and Holt gets some much needed publicity and lands a movie role almost immediately. However, Don doesn't realize until it's too late that he has ruined Kira's career, and possibly put her life in danger.'Dirt' has a sort of ensemble feel to it, and I'm sure as the show progresses every character will get their chance to shine.

'Dirt' is a very entertaining piece of television, and it is destined to be a lot of viewers' guilty pleasure, just because of the shallowness of the plot. But the show is actually not shallow. The people are good and have morals, including Lucy. She has a surprisingly deep friendship with her crazy photographer, and their bond really carries the show. Lucy and Don are easily the two best characters, and Cox and Hart have good chemistry.

The acting in 'Dirt' is actually very good. We all know that Courteney Cox can play the tough girl, which she did in Scream and the popular TV series 'Friends', and here she does just as well. She does a very admirable job as the cold magazine editor who has a surprisingly deep side to her.

The supporting characters are very diverse and played very well. Ian Hart has the most challenging role here, and he turns in a very real performance. Josh Stewart shows talent in one specific scene where Lucy threatens to leak a very explicit tape to the public. Fresh face Laura Allen shows personality and range in the typically clichéd role of the starlet. I trust she will get to show off her talent in the future. Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale, 40 Days and 40 Nights) stars as another starlet who must face all of the bad things about fame, and then realizes it may be too much for her.

The one problem I have with this show is the casting of Rick Fox as Prince Tyreese. His on-screen persona is a little to much like his real life persona of the adulterous basketball star. I don't know if him being in this show is a big middle finger to ex-wife Vanessa L. Williams or if he's just making fun of himself. But either way, his performance didn't work for me.

'Dirt' is executive produced by Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette, who together run their own production company Coquette. The decision for a couple to collaborate on a project has not worked well in the past (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez working together on Gigli comes to mind) and the last show that that Coquette worked on 'TBS's Daisy Does America' was quickly cancelled. But I think that 'Dirt' will find an audience, much like 'Nip/Tuck' did, and will be around long enough to fully develop its characters, add in some bigger stars, and expand the plot.

'Dirt' can have its trashy moments (The content that gives the show its TV-MA rating is pretty much unnecessary) and it is sometimes so real that we are ashamed that we idol the people in this show that are so negatively depicted. 'Dirt' wants to give us an uncensored look at today's Hollywood and the good, the bad, and the ugly involved in it, and that's what we get. It was good pilot, and I'm sure the show will only get better as it goes on. If you have nothing to do on a Tuesday night, give 'Dirt' a try. You may be surprised.

'Dirt' is created by Matthew Carnahan. It airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

'Dirt' is rated TV-MA and contains strong language, sexuality, nudity, and violence. Visit controlyourtv.org for more information on ratings and rating reasons.