Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous

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Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous
ZachStoneLogo.jpg
GenreTeen sitcom
Created by
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Bo Burnham
  • Dan Lagana
  • Dave Becky
  • Justin Levy
  • Luke Liacos
  • Michelle Klepper
Camera setupSingle
Running time21 minutes
Production company3 Arts Entertainment
DistributorViacom International Media Networks
Release
Original networkMTV Netflix
Picture format1080i 16:9 (HDTV)
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1
Original releaseMay 2 –
June 29, 2013 (2013-06-29)

Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous is an American teen sitcom created by comedian Bo Burnham and Dan Lagana that aired on MTV from May 2 to June 29, 2013.[1] The sitcom stars Burnham as Zach Stone, a fresh-out-of-high-school teenager who opts to pursue a life of fame and stardom instead of attending college. The series follows Zach, who hires a camera crew to film him throughout his daily life as a part of his quest to become an over-night celebrity, even though he possesses no real talent.

On June 26, 2013, it was announced that Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous had been canceled after one season.[2]

Premise[]

Zach Stone, an 18-year-old high school graduate from Boston, opts to pursue his dream to reach the life of fame and stardom instead of attending college. Thanks to his saving income from his grocery store job over the last couple of years, he hires a camera crew from MTV to film him throughout his daily life as a part of his quest to become an over-night celebrity, even though he possesses no real talent. From Zach's attempts to become a celebrity chef or a ring-tone recording artist or purposely going missing, he will try any avenue he can to get noticed and stop at nothing until he reaches fame. He has the entire summer vacation to get noticed and to hang out with his friends before they all leave to go to college.

Background[]

The series was commissioned in September 2010 by MTV. Variety magazine reported that MTV had ordered a half-hour-long television "put pilot", from Burnham "about a kid fresh out of high school who's pursuing the new American dream of being a celebrity without having any talent".[3][4] The show was inspired by a study that polled graduating high school seniors on their possible career paths, and 40% chose "famous" as opposed to extraordinarily low numbers for more realistic choices, such as "doctor".[5] The pilot was filmed in 2011, while the rest of the season was filmed over the course of 2012. Burnham initially felt the show to be a dark, satirical comedy that slams the title character for having "shallow priorities", but grew to feel the character more a product of the culture surrounding him.[6] The show was primarily inspired by comedy series such as The Larry Sanders Show, the original British version of The Office, and The Comeback.[7]

Cast and characters[]

  • Bo Burnham as Zach Stone, a recently graduated teen who pursues fame and stardom over college and will do anything to get famous.[8]
  • Kari Coleman as Sydney Stone, Zach's patient mother.[8]
  • Tom Wilson as Andrew "Drew" Stone, Zach's exasperated father.[8]
  • Cameron Palatas as Andrew Michael "Andy" Stone, Zach's more athletic and socially adept younger brother.[8]
  • Caitlin Gerard as Amy Page, Zach's best friend and eventual love interest.[8]
  • Armen Weitzman as Greg LeBlanc, Zach's shy Jewish best friend.[8]

Recurring[]

  • Rory Scovel as Pat, Zach's nervous yet affable boss at the grocery store.[8]
  • Robbie Amell as Nick, Amy's charismatic boyfriend who works as a gym trainer, and whom Zach sees as his rival.[8]
  • Shelley Hennig as Christy Ackerman, the hottest girl in Zach's former high school who wants to use him to get famous.[8]
  • Jason Rogel as Marcus, a member of Zach's camera crew.[8]
  • Justin Dray as Phillip, a member of Zach's camera crew.[8]
  • Arshad Aslam as Hasaad, a member of Zach's camera crew.[8]

Themes[]

Zach Stone spoofs youth culture, celebrity and the pursuit of fame.[6] Outwardly, the character of Zach Stone projects the image he feels will most make him famous and casts a thin layer over his true feelings.[7] Stone, in reality, is completely insecure and the idea of fame presents a "fix-all" to him.[5]

Episodes[]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
1"Pilot"Jeffrey BlitzDan Lagana & Bo BurnhamMay 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)0.65[9]
Zach Stone decides to forgo college to star in his own, self funded reality show. With his friends all leaving for school, he envisions a different path toward fame and a chance to "headline" a funeral is his first big step.
2"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be a Recording Artist"Joe NussbaumIsaac Aptaker & Elizabeth BergerMay 9, 2013 (2013-05-09)0.57[10]
The music business is Zach's next frontier as a front man of the first ringtone band. Embracing his "rebel" persona, he takes to the stage with sidekick Greg and beautiful Christy.
3"Zach Stone Is Gonna Get a Makeover"Joe NussbaumJon Silberman & Josh SilbermanMay 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)0.39[11]
When Christy invites Zach to a weekend pool party, he wants to show off his new image. After getting a full makeover, he's ready for his big reveal. However, his attention shifts when he witnesses a spark between Amy and Nick (a trainer at the gym he and Amy decide to go to, who coincidentally met both of them when they were all in high school).
4"Zach Stone Is Gonna Make a Sex Tape"Joe NussbaumTodd WaldmanMay 23, 2013 (2013-05-23)0.39[12]
Christy asks Zach out on a date and insists on bringing the camera crew. When Christy's true intentions come out, Zach decides to kick her off of his show.
5"Zach Stone Is Gonna Get Wild"Jeffrey WalkerJulia BrownellMay 30, 2013 (2013-05-30)0.36[13]
An invitation to his first college party at Boston College (which he begrudgingly accepts from Nick) gives Zach an idea as to how he may be able to pursue both college and fame at the same time (Zach has been accepted to Emerson College, but plans to pass the opportunity up in favor of seeking fame). Towards the end of the party, he secretly becomes upset over Amy's budding relationship with Nick, as he had subconsciously considered Amy a fallback romantic option that he previously took for granted.
6"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be a Celebrity Chef"Jeffrey WalkerGavin StecklerJune 6, 2013 (2013-06-06)0.33[14]
Zach challenges Nick to a cook-off to try and realizes that becoming a celebrity chef may be a tall order. Zach jumps at the chance to cater at the book club that his parents attend, which is hosted by Nick's mother, but he fails spectacularly by trying to serve the guests raw shrimp. On the bright side, Zach's embarrassment gives his parents the courage to stand up to Nick's mother and her pretentiousness.
7"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be The Zachelor"Jeffrey WalkerIsaac Aptaker & Elizabeth BergerJune 13, 2013 (2013-06-13)N/A
"America wants competitive love" and Zach plans to deliver on his new reality show "The Zachelor".
8"Zach Stone Is Gonna Go Missing"Todd Strauss-SchulsonRyan WallsJune 20, 2013 (2013-06-20)N/A
With a ransom video and well-planned disappearance, Zach plans to go "missing" to garner evening news fame in hopes of America watching with bated breath. However, Zach's younger brother Andy is the first in their household to receive Zach's staged ransom video and, having quickly recognized it as a ruse, keeps it to himself in order to ruin Zach's plan. Zach returns to his household after only 26 hours and ruins a family game night while venting his frustrations. Meanwhile, Nick throws Amy a surprise party but only gets a lukewarm response from her, after which Amy goes to console Zach and is the only person to welcome him back with any remote enthusiasm after his staged disappearance.
9"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Scary"Todd Strauss-SchulsonRyan WallsJune 20, 2013 (2013-06-20)N/A
To win a bet with his brother as to who gets scared first, Zach plans a hoax to film his brother in an ultimate scare video to become the next YouTube sensation. Zach eventually challenges Andy to spend a night in a locally infamous abandoned house - Greg and Amy accompany them on the sleepover, which makes Nick act uncharacteristically jealous towards Amy. Towards the end of the night, Zach and Amy kiss each other.
10"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be an Actor"Todd Strauss-SchulsonBo BurnhamJune 27, 2013 (2013-06-27)N/A
Life feels magical after Zach's kiss with Amy, and a chance to be a movie star shines after a student film audition. Nick crosses paths with Zach while the latter is working his grocery clerk job; Nick confides that he and Amy broke up, and when Zach lets slip that he and Amy kissed, Nick physically assaults Zach before Zach's boss Pat demands that Nick leave the store. Zach later shows up at Amy's front porch with a showy proposal for the two of them to go steady, but when Amy confesses that she feels conflicted and hesitates to jump into a relationship with him right away, Zach accuses her of using him for experience for a supposed promiscuous phase in college. Despite the outburst, they later agree to reconcile as friends. Zach's romantically-charged moodswings throughout the episode help him to land a co-starring role in the student film, but later factor into him getting fired from the production.
11"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be a Hero"Stuart McDonaldGavin StecklerJune 29, 2013 (2013-06-29)N/A
After seeing a man on television getting interviewed for saving children from a burning building, Zach decides that he is going to be a hero. Greg agrees to pose as a drowning victim for Zach to save on video, despite Greg having to prepare to move to a new town for college. Greg gets frustrated enough to lament about Zach's selfish ways to his face, but they later reconcile. Zach brings a homemade DVD of his staged rescue to a local news station, but an employee immediately tosses it in a garbage bin as soon as Zach turns his back.
12"Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous (No, Really)"Stuart McDonaldDan Lagana & Bo BurnhamJune 29, 2013 (2013-06-29)N/A
"Good Morning Boston" is preparing to do a story on Zach's search for fame, despite his staged rescue video getting immediately rebuffed in the previous episode. This causes more drama within his family; Andy refuses to appear in the broadcast, resulting in one of Zach's hired camera crew members posing as Andy while their own parents reluctantly agree to appear as themselves. Amy walks in on the interview filming and is distraught to hear Zach say "the more that I do this, the more that I realize I just want to do this alone. I just want to be famous". Zach later tries to see Amy one last time before she leaves for college, but her mother claims Amy already left while Amy is still inside crying on the stairs. When Zach goes into the news station for the live filming portion, he sees testimonials by his parents, Andy and Amy extolling his virtues despite all of his selfish behavior over the last few months. On air, he comes to an epiphany and leaves the studio in hopes of reconciling with Amy, but she is already waiting for him at the studio. They reunite with a kiss in the back parking lot, when the gate opens to several dozen fans moved by their love story and asking for Zach's autograph. As Zach basks in his newfound fame, a look of doubt and disappointment strikes Amy's face as she wonders if their reunion was just another one of Zach's attention-seeking schemes.

Reception[]

Ratings[]

Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous struggled in the ratings during its run. The series premiered to 650,000 viewers and saw its numbers decrease to half of that midway through its season. The show originally aired at 10:30 p.m. on Thursdays, but was moved to 11 p.m. in June 2013 to expand its dwindling audience.[15] MTV scheduled its eighth and ninth episodes to air back to back, and burned off the following three the next week. MTV officially cancelled the series on June 26, 2013.[15]

Critical response[]

Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous received generally positive reviews from television critics. Brian Lowry of Variety wrote, "While the concept is hardly original ... the series still feels fresh and timely," adding, "this single-camera satire zeroes in on a burning, warped desire to be famous that MTV, as much as anyone, has stoked and exemplified. ... Indeed, even MTV appears oddly oblivious to the ironies of this dichotomy."[16] Entertainment Weekly called the pilot a "promising debut", positively reviewing Burnham's portrayal of the titular character: "Because there's an inherent empathy to the character, it's a delight watching him strive and fail to make the mundane ordinariness of his suburban reality sexy."[17] While noting the premise of parodying reality shows covered no new ground, The New York Times did commend the show's attempt to aim "straight for the dark underbelly of all these fantasies. It's one thing to put on a show; it's another to do so to mask huge holes within."[18]

Pilot Viruet of The A.V. Club noted that the character's "off-camera moments", such as his appeasement of girl-next-door Amy in the pilot, were more satisfying than watching "a completely abhorrent character do awful thing after awful thing. ... It's clear that the writers (and Zach) are so knowledgeable of this particular world that the end result is smarter than you'd expect the average reality show send-up to be."[19] Newsday called the show "almost too clever, funny and ironic for MTV", also praising the show's softer moments: "Zach is both commentary and send-up of the ephemera that MTV and the Internet at large celebrate – then instantly forget. ... But there's a core gentleness here, too, and while Zach's frenetic attention span is extremely splintered, he still manages to be relatable."[20]

In contrast, David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that the show "is more noisy than funny", comparing it to Burnham's beginnings posting videos to YouTube from his bedroom: "His bedroom videos were weird, too, but funny-weird, not I-need-an-Excedrin weird."[21] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post gave the series a scathing review, claiming that "this show is so bad, it's beneath even MTV". Describing the series as irritating, he continues, "One thing about MTV's so-called original programming is that it is often a safe refuge for the criminally unoriginal. I would like to point out that we can extradite Burnham back to reality and prosecute him as an adult."[22]

References[]

  1. ^ Bibel, Sara (April 29, 2013). "MTV's New Scripted Comedy Series 'Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous' to Premiere Thursday, May 2 - Video". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  2. ^ Bibel, Sara (June 26, 2013). "'Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous' Canceled by MTV". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  3. ^ Levine, Stuart (September 7, 2010). "MTV orders pilot from Bo Burnham". Variety. New York City: Reed Business Information. ISSN 0042-2738. Retrieved September 10, 2010. Rising comedian just finished run at Edinburgh fest
  4. ^ "Proper Bo". Chortle. September 8, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010. Burnham lands US sitcom deal
  5. ^ a b Casey Lewis (April 2013). "Bo Burnham on His New MTV Show Zach Stone is Gonna be Famous". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Elise Czajkowski (May 1, 2013). "Bo Burnham on His New MTV Show, Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, and His YouTube Years". Vulture. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Bradford Evans (May 1, 2013). "Talking to Bo Burnham About His New MTV Show, Working with Judd Apatow, and Playing an Unrelatable Character". Splitsider. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous — Cast and Characters". MTV.
  9. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Swamp People" Top Charts". The Futon Critic. May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  10. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Swamp People" Pulls Back in Front for History". The Futon Critic. May 10, 2013.
  11. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: TNT, ESPN Top Charts with NBA Playoffs". The Futon Critic. May 17, 2013.
  12. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Swamp People" Tops Demos, Viewers for History". The Futon Critic. May 24, 2013.
  13. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Pawn Stars" Return No Match for NBA Playoffs". The Futon Critic. May 31, 2013.
  14. ^ "Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Pawn Stars," "Burn Notice" Top Charts". The Futon Critic. June 7, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Lesley Goldberg (June 26, 2013). "MTV Cancels Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous After One Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  16. ^ Brian Lowry (April 26, 2013). "TV Review: Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous". Variety. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  17. ^ Lindsey Bahr (May 2, 2013). "Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous review: Rising above the superficial, one-joke premise". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  18. ^ Jon Caramanica (May 1, 2013). "In Vain Pursuit of That 15 Minutes". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  19. ^ Pilot Viruet (May 2, 2013). "Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous: Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  20. ^ Verne Gay (May 1, 2013). "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous review: Bo Burnham's sitcom wins". Newsday. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  21. ^ David Wiegand (April 29, 2013). "Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous review". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  22. ^ Hank Stuever (May 1, 2013). "On MTV, a surprisingly sweet Vinny, and an irritating Zach Stone". Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2013.

External links[]

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