The awkward high school social adventures of Ashley Rickards' Jenna will continue next month! As the above teaser, courtesy of Huff Post, indicates, the third season of MTV's popular dramedy Awkward. will air in April. No specific date was mentioned, nor does the teaser give us a whole lot to go on in terms of the plot or what social disasters await its lead, but at the very least, we know we'll find out in less than a month. I do love the focus on the awkwardness of school photos, weird posing and stiff smiles and all. Makes me think of the opening credits for Freaks and Geeks, a show with a similar tone in its approach to high school drama.
Created by Lauren Iungerich, Awkward stars Rickards as Jenna, a girl who's probably technically far too beautiful to fall into the social outcast category in high school, but finds herself there nonetheless in the first season when a bathroom accident leaves her in a weird cast. That, added to the secret relationship she develops with Matty (Beau Mirchoff), and a mysterious letter telling her off for not taking chances, throws her life into teen chaos. Season 2 takes Jenna's problems to the next level as she's torn between her feelings for Matty and her relationship with Matty's nice-guy best friend Jake (Brett Davern). With the help of her best friend Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) and the occasional guidance of the school counselor Valerie Marks (Desi Lydic), Jenna continues to navigate the tricky, complicated and amusing waters of high school.
What makes Awkward such a great show is its aim to tackle high school drama with comedy, rather than straight-up angst and melodrama. Oh, sure there are mopey moments and plenty of teen frustration to go around, but the general tone of the show is humor, finding the lighter side to high school drama. Plus, the ongoing drama between Jenna, Jake, Matty and the other character - including Jenna's nemesis Saide (Molly Tarlov) - makes the series addicting and a must-watch, even for those of us who might technically be older than MTV's targeted age demographic.
Season 3 will consist of 20 episodes, which is 8 more than each of the first two seasons had. We also have Anthony Michael Hall and Nolan Funk's appearances to look forward to.
We'll have more Awkward to look forward to when the series resumes in April. Hopefully we'll hear word of the actual premiere date soon.
