“Faking It” is a teenage comedy about two best friends who fake a romance to get noticed, and it mostly earns its reputation for awkwardness. The show premiered on MTV in 2014, created by Dana Goodman and Julia Lea Wolov, and ran for three seasons across 38 episodes. It stars Rita Volk as Amy Raudenfeld, Katie Stevens as Karma Ashcroft, Gregg Sulkin as Liam Booker, Bailey De Young as Lauren Cooper, and Michael J. Willett as Shane Harvey.
The premise is simple and mean-spirited. Karma and Amy, played by Stevens and Volk, want to be popular. They fail repeatedly. Then Shane Harvey mistakes them for a couple, and the whole school assumes they are Austin’s first lesbian pair. Karma and Amy decide to keep up the charade, and their lives spiral from there.
Trailer, via MTV.
The Heart of the Show
The core of “Faking It” is the friendship between Karma and Amy. Karma is a sharp-tongued overachiever who wants to be loved. Amy is a messier soul, funny and anxious, who loves Karma more than she can say. Their scenes together are the show’s best writing. The chemistry between Stevens and Volk is genuine, and their banter carries the early episodes.
The show leans hard on humor about being a teenager. It mocks the social hierarchy of high school with a knowing eye. The jokes land sometimes, especially when they hit on the absurdity of popularity itself. The show understands that the worst part of adolescence is pretending to care about things you don’t.
The Problem With the Lie
Where “Faking It” stumbles is in the lie itself. Karma and Amy pretend to be a couple to get attention. That’s fine for a few episodes. But the show asks us to root for them to keep the lie going even as it causes pain. Karma starts dating Liam, and Amy starts falling for Karma. The show never fully resolves this contradiction.
The show also struggles with pacing. The first season is tight and focused. The second and third seasons stretch out, adding subplots that feel less urgent. The show tries to balance comedy, drama, and soap opera elements, and it doesn’t always succeed.
The Cast Carries the Weight
The supporting cast helps carry the show through its rough patches. Gregg Sulkin plays Liam Booker as a handsome jock who is genuinely interested in Karma. His performance grounds the show’s more ridiculous moments. Bailey De Young plays Lauren Cooper as a rival for Amy’s affection, and her scenes add tension without tipping the show into melodrama.
Michael J. Willett plays Shane Harvey, the catalyst for the entire plot. His character is the one who misreads Karma and Amy as a couple. The show handles him inconsistently. Sometimes he’s a villain, and sometimes he’s a comic relief. Neither version lands fully.
What the Show Gets Right
“Faking It” is at its best when it’s honest about its own contradictions. The show knows it’s asking viewers to watch two people pretend to be a couple while also making them fall in love for real. It doesn’t resolve that tension, but it acknowledges it. That honesty gives the show a kind of emotional weight that its jokes can’t quite reach.
The show also made history. It featured the first intersex main character on television, and Amanda Saenz played the role as the first intersex actor to play an intersex character on TV. This is a real accomplishment, and it deserves credit alongside the show’s other strengths.
Where It Falls Short
The show’s biggest flaw is its refusal to let the lie end. Karma and Amy keep pretending, even when the consequences pile up. This is a problem of structure as much as it is a problem of tone. The show needs a resolution, and it never gets one.
The show also relies too heavily on its central gimmick. Once the audience knows Karma and Amy are faking it, the novelty wears off. The show spends its later seasons trying to find new angles on the same situation, and it doesn’t always succeed.
The Final Word
“Faking It” is a flawed but watchable show. Its heart is in the right place, even when its execution isn’t. The performances are strong, particularly from Stevens and Volk. The show’s historical significance as the first intersex character played by an intersex actor is real.
The show’s ending, announced in May 2016, felt abrupt. MTV cancelled the series after three seasons, and the finale left some threads dangling. That’s a shame, because the show deserved a better sendoff.
If you’re looking for a show that captures the loneliness of adolescence, “Faking It” delivers. If you’re looking for a show that resolves its own conflicts, you’ll be disappointed.
Here’s how the show breaks down:
- The premise is clever and mean-spirited, which is the right combination for a teen comedy.
- The friendship between Karma and Amy is the show’s strongest element.
- The show’s refusal to let the lie end is its biggest weakness.
- The historical significance of its intersex representation is real and important.
- The pacing drags in the later seasons.
“Faking It” is a show that is fun to watch and frustrating to finish. It’s worth your time, but it’s not perfect. The show earns a 7.1 out of 10.
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