S2 News

[Brian Melanson]

News and Spoilers for the Second Season of "101 Ways To Survive High School" will be posted here.

[Brian Melanson]

"Movin' On Up"

VSGuide has learned that with the pick up of Season Two of the hit High School Comedy "101 Ways To Survive High School", there comes many upgrades to the cast. Holland Roden (Ivy Lynwood), Zoe Sugg (Christy Sparks), Sarah Hyland (Misty Cobb), Connor Franta (Cal Quincy), Arden Cho (Nellie Yang), Diane Guerrero (Izzy Flanagan), Tristin Mays (Connie Mitt), Justine Ezarik (Jennifer Parker) and Grey Damon (Vincent Rock) have all been upgraded to series regulars for the new season. When asked about the updates to the cast, Brian Melanson had this to say "When I started breaking down the second season, I knew it couldn't be like last season. I felt like I had more chances to tell the stories of the other students of Serenity High. As the season goes on, we'll dive deeper into the Drama Kids, the Barbie Dolls and the Womanizing Vincent Rock. Each of them have a story that I cannot wait to tell." Reports also state that each of these characters will be receiving their own episode as the season progresses. The return date of "101" has yet to be announced but will be returning earlier than expected with a special "surprise" before the end of the year.

[Brian Melanson]

"101" Christmas Special Coming!

More news coming from the "101" world! On December 25th, an all new episode of "101 Ways To Survive High School" will air! It will be the first Christmas Special and will take place between the Season One Finale and the Season Two Premiere. Brian had this to say "Originally, the finale of Season One was going to be the Christmas Episode, but that aired October 1st. It also didn't feel very, holiday to me. We sang "RENT" and "Spring Awakening" but that's not very Christmas. So I came up with a story that wouldn't really effect the main plot and wouldn't be apart of either season. It's just a special that is a very feel good Christmas story."

The story for the Christmas Special is that Hayley wants to make a very memorable Christmas with her new friends. So on Christmas Eve, they spend the whole day together, singing carols, having snowball fights, making snowmen, drinking hot coco, and also looking to make memories between them. But don't count out Katerina and her Barbie Dolls! They are looking to ruin the Drama Kids holiday fun.  The special will be a half hour and the entire main cast is expected to appear. 

[Brian Melanson]

New Love. And Goodbyes

VSGuide has learned there have been some changes to the "101 Ways To Survive High School" Season Two lineup. It has been reported that Grey Damon [who portrays jock Vincent Rock, and Katerina's Boyfriend] has exited the series. The reasoning behind this is, that when originally planning Season Two, Vincent was to have a bigger role. But as the season progressed in planning, Vincent's place was just not found. "Vincent was a character I was very excited to bring to life in Season Two. Especially after planting the seeds in the final episodes of Season One. But really, Vincent was just another background character and I felt as if he didn't contribute to Katerina's story in the way I wanted. Vincent will be back one day, I can confirm that. But as for Season Two, he's not." Brian went on to say "But it did open up a new opportunity to bring a character in that I had planned for future seasons, in a bit earlier then I planned. 

Nicholas Hoult will be portraying Billy Rydell, the resident nerd of Serenity High. "With Nicholas's character, he's a big nerd. He doesn't know how to talk to girls and is tired of being the big nerd. He is, I want to say, very important to Katerina's character development in Season Two. After certain events happen with Katerina, she's at an all time low. But when she begins to rebuild her support system, Billy some how finds his way in that support system. It's really a story I'm excited to tell". Season Two of "101 Ways To Survive High School" will air the first half of Season Two this Spring and a trailer for the season will be released after the Christmas Special on December 25th. 

[Brian Melanson]

MEET THE QUEEN BEES

If you thought that Katerina, Nellie and Izzy were bad, you clearly haven’t meet the Queen Bees. VSGuide has learned that in the Second Season of “101 Ways To Survive High School”, new mean girl characters will be brought in. “The Queen Bees were originally an idea for Season Three, but as I started breaking Season Two, I noticed they fit better in that story.” Creator Brian Melanson also had this to say “There’s a whole hierarchy of Queen Bees. It all started with them, and there isn’t a reason they weren't in Season One. In reality, Katerina, Nellie and Izzy are the first Barbie Dolls ever. And because the Queen Bees weren’t around in Season One, they had to have someone watch the school right?” 

The Queen Bees are to be played by three new actresses, Riley Voelkel as Mellie Queens, Melissa Benoist as Kellie Corden, and Billie Lourd as Becki Porter. “The Queen Bees were fun characters, I originally wanted to create the opposite of the Barbie Dolls, but I thought it would be fun to see a little bit of the characters we know and love in each of the Queen Bees. So Mellie is very much like Katerina, Kellie is a lot like Nellie and Becki is a lot like Izzy.” But don’t count on exact carbon copies, as Brian went on to announce this “The second season is split into two parts, and those two parts flow together in a perfect way. The first half really tells the story of Katerina, and who she is at Serenity. There is one perfect saying for Katerina’s story this season, once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go, is up. And that’s really what is going to happen. I’m shifting this story from just being about Hayley to it being an ensemble story. Everyone outside the main four gets an episode this season, and it’s something I didn’t have the beauty of doing in Season One.” More casting announcements will be coming soon.

[Brian Melanson]

"101" Adds Some More

Following the casting announcements of The Queen Bees, VSGuide has learned that "101 Ways to Survive High School" is adding a few more new faces. First up is Greg Sulkin who will be playing Allen Briggs, the star soccer player who is the new love interest for our resident Aussie. That's right, Fiona is getting a love interest. But how they're love story plays out will be a complicated one. Next up is Shanice Williams. Shanice will portraying Emerson "Emmy" Rhodes, a girl who has bounce around foster homes. But when she has been adopted by the Rydell family, she finds it hard to keep a sense of "home" together. But with Billy's (Nicolas Hoult) help, she tries her best to keep it together. 

And if you were thinking who Katerina's parents were, meet Pauline Cove portrayed by Cheryl Hines. The actress will be playing Katerina's southern mother who believes that her daughter needs to make a change in her life before she loses her friends and her popularity. And there is going to be a new secretary in Serenity. Ingrid Nielsen will be play Sally Marks, a spunky young girl who took this job to pay off her student loans. But she catches the eye of Vicki Moore (Hannah Hart) and the two start off an unlikely friendship that turns into something more. Finally, meet the meat head that is Christopher Meloni who is playing Vice Principal Jonathan Goodwin, who is at an adversary with the Main Five as they get a Saturday Detention. So there you have it, S2 is adding new faces and even more stories, so look out for these to be developed further.

[Brian Melanson]

Casting Shake Up & Scoop

VSGuide has learned that starting with the season two premiere of "101 Ways to Survive High School", Connor Franta will no longer be portraying Cal Quincy, the tech producer of the Serenity High Drama Club. Cal will now be played by Michael Johnston (Teen Wolf) and the creator of the show had this to say "Cal is getting a much bigger story this season, we're heading into the second semester of Sophomore year and we're coming off the disaster that was the Holiday Talent Show. It's all about new beginnings for the Serenity High Drama Club, so we're going to see a lot of dynamics that we didn't see in Season One. I like to think that Season Two is really the reboot of the show. We're currently going under re-writes and editing things around so that when we get to the big two part finale, everything has a big pay off." The season premiere will most likely be an extended episodes but right now, that is just a rumor. Stay tuned for more!

[Brian Melanson]

"101" Returns May 5th!

Finally, almost a year after it's series premiere, "101 Ways to Survive High School" is coming back on May 5th 2016.  And that's just part of the news.  The Season Premiere will be an extended episode!  Yes, the normal half hour comedy will need a longer episode to bring us into the Second Season.  After a rocky first season, Brian promises that Season Two will be a soft reboot of the show and that the show has gone under massive rewrites and changes to reflect that.  But will still retain that charm and comedy.  Season Two will follow a few weeks after the Christmas Special and will follow the kids gearing up for Drama Festival which will be the mid-season finale.  2A has been dubbed the "Road to Drama Fest" while 2B is being kept underwraps, but here is what Brian had to say, "While 2A is really just getting to Drama Fest, 2B is really a character piece for our secondary characters.  So, the Main Four will be taking a backseat, and I can promise that this season, every main character will get or share an episode!".  So while May 5th is a while away, here is a trailer to wet your whistle! TRAILER!!!