Associated Press

By Ben Nuckols

Associated Press (syndicated)

JULY 11, 2000 [accessible only on The Internet Archive (Archive.org), e.g., at above link, as of December 2016; accessed in November 2010 from from AP Online through Highbeam at http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-29818092.html]

BALTIMORE (AP) - ... TV production has returned to Baltimore with ``Young Americans'' - premiering at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday on the WB - ...

A mansion north of the city provides the exteriors for the school, and the lake is nearby Loch Raven Reservoir. Sleepy Havre de Grace, at the mouth of the Susquehanna River 33 miles northeast of Baltimore, stands in for the New England town.

From these locations emerges an airbrushed, anonymous Baltimore, one that can effectively appear to be much further north. Steven Antin, creator and executive producer of ``Young Americans,'' said he was amazed at the city's bounty.

``Baltimore is mostly known for 'Homicide,' which had illustrated the grittiness of it,'' Antin said. ``What we've discovered is an incredibly beautiful city.''

Production designer Vincent Perenia, who worked on ``Homicide'' for its entire seven-year run and has also worked with Baltimore-based filmmaker John Waters, says he's enjoyed the opportunity to create an idealized milieu.

"It's about youth. It's about lushness,'' he said. "It's really going to be a gorgeous show.''

The show's beauty extends beyond the locations. Antin has followed a WB formula by assembling a cast of virtual unknowns who are just as easy on the eyes.In particular, Kate Bosworth and Ian Somerhalder are likely to inspire scores of adoring Web sites.

Antin, 35, says "Young Americans'' represents the perfection of youth. Yet he has filled their lives with the turbulence of adulthood. Here's a list, by no means complete, of the issues that pop up in the first episode: class conflict, gender confusion, the possibility of incest, lying, cheating, abusive parents, philandering parents, love, lust, disappointment and self-discovery.

"It's chock full of incidents and twists and turns,'' Antin said.

Among them is a female character who disguises herself as a boy to attend all-boys Rawley Academy. Unlike Teena Brandon, the subject of last year's emotionally wrenching film ``Boys Don't Cry,'' Jake Pratt (Katharine Moennig) isn't suffering from a gender-identity crisis. Her predicament is played for comedy and sex appeal, as she falls for fellow student Hamilton Fleming (Somerhalder).

Then there's the romance between privileged Rawley student Scout Calhoun (Mark Famiglietti) and the striking townie Bella Banks (Bosworth). They fall in love with astonishing quickness, only to find out they're brother and sister.

The relatively stable presence at the show's center is Will Krudski, the point-of-view character, played by Rodney Scott with a chip too large to fit on Will's 15-year-old shoulders. An otherwise intelligent working-class kid, Will has cheated on Rawley's entrance exam to gain admission. ...