- Network: The CW , Much Music , CW , MuchMusic
- Series Premiere Date: Jan 10, 2012
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Critic Reviews
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The L.A. Complex is maddeningly low-rated, but it's worth seeking out: it's no masterpiece of cinematography, and can veer into melodrama, but at its sharpest moments the show has as much "Midnight Cowboy" in it as it does "Melrose Place."
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This blah drama about kids living in an LA apartment complex while hustling for big breaks is a Canadian import. [7 May 2012, p.46]
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It's a primetime soap, but one that's genuinely more interested in what the characters want to do for a living than in who they're sleeping with.
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Even the most concocted bits play out in a relaxed way, as when a drummer lay back behind the beat, putting new life into an old tune, making the corn convincing, the familiar unpredictable.
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The dialogue is actually pretty darned good and kind of inside funny.
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What starts out as a seemingly generic series about an assortment of showbiz wannabes becomes more engaging over the first few episodes.
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On the surface at least, it's hard to imagine responding to CW's three-pronged tagline attack of "Small fish. Big pond. Huge dreams." Wonder of wonders, though, this series sells its premise while only occasionally trying way too hard.
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No one will confuse The L.A. Complex with "Mad Men" or "The Good Wife," but for the type of show it sets out to be, this Complex is surprisingly, well, complex.
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An affectionate and surprisingly insightful look at Hollywood hopefuls clawing to make careers in TV, music, comedy and dance.
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Over all it's as essentially disposable as most CW shows, but in between the rockin' pool parties and show-business clichés there are moments that are better written and less formulaic than the norm for this network.
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By the end of this first episode, The L.A. Complex has done enough to deserve a callback. [20/27 Apr 2012, p.106]
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The show has sneaky depth. The leads are pretty without being "pretty," refreshingly down-to-earth likable, and able to flesh out their youthful stereotypes with this weird thing called personality.
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Even with some amusing bleeps and pixelation to obscure saucy language and (apparently) beer labels, L.A. Complex feels pretty authentic, and gets the relationships much better than something like the increasingly preposterous "Smash" does.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 19 out of 22
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Mixed: 2 out of 22
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Negative: 1 out of 22
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Apr 26, 2012
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Apr 24, 2012
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Apr 13, 2013