Awkward Season 4: Showrunners Tease Jenna’s New Love Triangle and Senior Year ‘Tension’
With Collin-gate far behind them, the kids of Palos Hills High are starting fresh in tonight’s Season 4 premiere of Awkward (MTV, 10/9c) — but don’t worry, they’re all still total train wrecks.
RELATED | Awkward‘s Jillian Rose Reed on Tamara and Jake’s ‘Heartbreak,’ Plus More Season 4 Drama
TVLine spoke with new showrunners Mike Chessler and Chris Alberghini, who promise a season “fraught with tension and drama,” in addition to the show’s brand of offbeat humor. As Chessler explains, “It’s senior year, so every decision feels like it’s going to impact the rest of their lives.”
In that spirit of that “tension and drama,” let’s break this preview down couple-by-couple, shall we?
JENNA & MATTY | Last season ended with Jenna choosing to be alone, but that’ll prove to be easier said than done in Season 4. “It’s very easy to make a grand declaration about who you want to be, but it’s very hard to actually implement that,” Chessler explains. “Jenna and Matty’s emotional tie is incredibly strong, and that will continue to be the center of the show.” As for Matty’s ex Bailey, Alberghini admits, “We just didn’t know what else to do with that relationship, quite frankly. And a lot of things could have happened over the summer. Maybe Bailey wasn’t the right girl for him.”
JENNA & LUKE | Despite Jenna’s “emotional tie” to Matty, she will be turning her attention to college-boy Luke (Degrassi‘s Evan Williams) for a few very specific reasons. “Luke represents Jenna thinking ahead about what she’s going to be like in college,” Chessler says. “In Jenna’s eyes, he’s an adult,” Alberghini adds. “Senior year of high school, you’re pretty damn close to being an adult. There’s a lot of exploration of that subject matter.”
JAKE & TAMARA | Jillian Rose Reed already gave us her take on Jake and Tamara’s split, but here’s what Alberghini has to say about the decision to rip them apart: “When you’ve been with someone for a long time, at least in high school years, you start to evaluate what aspects of that relationship works and which aspects drive you crazy.” (And, hey, what are Jake and Tamara if not crazy?)
SADIE & AUSTIN (AND ALLY) | And then there’s Sadie. “She’ll be on a very interesting journey,” Chessler teases. “We might find out that some of the things she was representing in Season 3 are not actually true. We also love her relationship with Austin, and we’ll see more of that play out.” And fear not, Team Ally! The new showrunners say Barrett Swatek (aka Sadie’s new guardian) will also be around “as much as we can have her.”
FRESH MEAT | And as always, there’s room for a few new faces at Palos Hills High. “We’ve got a new female character named Eva who comes in with a huge amount of life experience, unnaturally so for a high school senior,” Alberghini teases. “She gets a lot of attention from the guys, who all want to do her, and the girls, who all want to be like her. We also have two gay characters, Theo and Cole, who are going to stir up some s**t.”
Thoughts on the new season? What are you hoping to see, and what are you afraid of? Drop a comment and let us know.
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Is it 10 yet! !!
omfg icant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!please hurry up i cant wait any longer!!!!!!!!!
The show sounds good this years! I was worried with the old showrunner being ousted but I’m sure things will still be a lot of fun, especially compared to last season’s Jenna, who was somehow a darker character than Stiles possessed by a demon.
I loved the road Jenna went down last season though. It was dark, interesting, and great development for her character going forward. Not many shows take the risk with their main character like Awkward did.
I cannot wait! This is going to be awesome!
Lol at the Austin & Ally reference. Or maybe it’s just coincidence.