Newport Beach gets another 15 minutes

Lolita Harper

Newport Beach residents will get a chance to see how it’s really done

in the O.C. tonight.

Just in case you were curious about life in Newport Beach, the new

Fox TV show, “The O.C.,” will quench that thirst for knowledge when

the highly anticipated new teen drama debuts at 9 p.m. on Channel 11.

The show revolves around bad boy Ryan Atwood -- played by Benjamin

McKenzie -- a kid from the “wrong side of the tracks” who is

mercifully taken in by his bleeding-heart public defender from

Newport Beach. Sandy Cohen -- played by Peter Gallagher -- is

assigned to defend Atwood in a car theft case and winds up adopting

him. Atwood is thrust into a culture of luxury where he must learn to

relate to filthy rich people he has nothing in common with.

“The O.C.” stands for Orange County, described on the show’s Web

site as “an idyllic paradise -- a harbor-front community where

everything and everyone appears to be perfect.” But the show focuses

on the underbelly of the town, depicting teenagers with dangerous

drug habits, flippant sexual morals and too much money.

Atwood is an outcast. A brooding bad boy who apparently catches

the interest of his beautiful next door neighbor and the wrath of the

“Newport crew.”

“Throughout the series, Ryan’s outsider status will continue to

set him apart from the O.C. elite, but his continued presence in

their community ultimately shines like a bright light on the fact

that everyone, no matter how rich or powerful, feels like an outsider

at heart,” the Web site reads.

Although the show is said to take place in the breezy, beach town

of Newport, it was shot on Los Angeles County beaches and in L.A.

County cities. The show’s director, McG, director of music videos and

“Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” is from Newport Beach and was

known to his teachers at Corona del Mar High School as Joseph

McGinty.

Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg said he heard about the show,

but only third-hand. Bromberg said he understands it to be a “soap

opera-type” show that will fit the stereotype of the city formed by

those who are not familiar with it.

“I guess it’s what they think Newport Beach might be if you lived

in New York or something,” Bromberg said. “I heard that it’s not

going to be very complimentary.”

But that won’t keep Bromberg away. The mayor said he will tune in

tonight out of curiosity.

“I’m sure I’ll have a reaction after I see it,” Bromberg said.

“The last hot thing that happened was ‘[The] West Wing,’ so we’ll see

what these guys do.”

Newport Beach was highlighted on several episodes of “The West

Wing” last season as one of the regular characters unsuccessfully

vied for a congressional seat in the city.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.