My Life as Liz

Genre

The series employs camera-work and editing typical of reality television, while hinting at Liz living in a small country-like town where her individuality is constantly threatened. The Texas city she lives in has over 35,000 residents. The Los Angeles Times described the show as quasi-reality, with real people in their real environment leading lives that are being dramatized, and noted it flirts with documentary but intersperses scenes of high-school hallway conversations.

An MTV executive stated the network does not view it as just a reality show and would not call it a sitcom. Executive Producer Marshall Eisen explained that when Liz is around other people, the show played that as straight as possible, but when she is alone, they stylized things more. Liz confirmed that multiple scenes are planned, though the events and relationships are true. The series frequently uses music from Faded Paper Figures.

Series overview

Season one focuses on Liz Lee, a self-proclaimed geek living in Burleson, Texas, a conservative, religious suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It follows her senior year, her friends, and her antagonist Cori Cooper. Season two is set in New York, where Liz adjusts to old and new friends after moving to attend Pratt Institute.

Cast

She feels people in her town are stuck-up or narrow-minded, and admits she used to be a preppy girl until Cori Cooper betrayed her. She enjoys comic books and is obsessed with Star Wars. In season one, she deals with high-school drama and develops a crush on her friend Bryson, though he initially rejects her prom offer; he later confesses his feelings in the season finale. After moving to New York to attend Pratt Institute, she meets Louis, a possible boyfriend after Bryson is dishonest with her. He secretly likes Liz but fears jeopardizing their friendship. He helps get Liz and Bryson together at prom. In season two, he remains loyal, becomes protective when meeting Louis, and develops a crush on Marlene, who shares his love of comics. He eventually admits his love for Liz to move on, but Marlene pulls the friend card.

Critical response

Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the first episode a C rating, comparing the show to the style of the Coen Brothers films and Christopher Guest mockumentaries, but criticized it for learning the wrong lessons. She credited it with goofy charm but was disappointed by the same old stereotypes, and questioned whether it is a sitcom blended with a reality show or the reverse. She noted the heavily-scripted nature could be fixed if the show were more honest about what it wants to be.

Mike Hale of The New York Times similarly said it registers more as a sitcom than a reality show, being so stylized and carefully planned that it is the next best thing to scripted, but remarked that is the point. He found the premise akin to a geeky misfit viewer suddenly being part of the show, though the main protagonist does not make her life interesting enough to draw the viewer in, while some other characters make more of an impression.