Entertainment News & Features

‘Scouted’ is a brand spanking new E! show -premiering tonight at 10pm- that follows a Minnessota based boy scout troupe as they work their way toward that elusive Eagle Scout badge. Of course, that’s not true. It’s E!. ‘Scouted’ is about MODELS!!! The wonderful world of models and all the very, very interesting things they do, like get their picture taken and have make-up put on them.
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To be more specific, ‘Scouted’ is really about those with the incredibly important job of running up to young girls in mall parking lots and asking them “have you ever thought about modeling?” It’s these people, let’s face it, who are the real American heros. On the premiere episode -airing tonight- we meet two of these stalkers scouts as they badger mentor one dollar sign aspiring model each with the goal of having the girl signed by One Management.

First up is Page Parkes from Houston, Texas who runs the (not) vaunted Page Parkes Corporation which has, at a time, represented such huge stars as Channing Tatum and Rory from ‘The Gilmore Girls.’ Page is great, if you’re definition of great is “oily and kind of creepy,” but if you believe the show, she’s good at her job. She “happens upon” a fifteen year old girl named Gillian (soft “G”) who I will say is pretty, but I’ll say it cautiously because she’s fifteen years old. (Side Note: The modeling industry’s sexualization of underage teenagers is an interesting topic and one that needs to be addressed. So, discuss amongst yourselves. I’ll chime in -it’s deplorable. Bye!)
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Gillian is a really sweet girl who will no doubt be corrupted by a business wherein someone like Julia Samersova suggests that she needs to drop “baby weight.” Seemingly less corruptable is Jennifer who was scouted by San Francisco’s Kristen Kotik. Jennifer is a good model, but she shows up to places late and her mother is her manager -which is bad.

The drama lies in whether or not the modeling agency One Management will sign these girls and there’s really no drama at all. ‘Scouted’ is very much an E! show and how much you’ll like it will depend on how strong your stomach is for such things. It’s flashy, fashion-y and kind of bitchy, as you’d expect, but the success or failure of each episode will depend not on the names you know, but the ones you don’t. It’s all about the perspective models and if they’re boring, so goes the show. The premiere’s duo of Gillian and Jennifer is a pretty good one -there’s a side story with Gillian designed to tug the old heart strings and it works- as the two are likable enough and therefore “root-for-able” as well.
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‘Scouted’ is not a show that has set out to reinvent the wheel re: fashion reality shows, so it’s of little note that it most certainly doesn’t. It goes by quickly and, at least in the premiere, there is nary a dull moment. Is it groundbreaking? Certainly not. Is it entertaining? A little bit.