There's no denying ITV2's The Only Way Is Essex, with its funny, fluffy, perma-tanned cast, is a massive hit - having won a Bafta and the nation's hearts. E4's attempt at scripted-reality, Made In Chelsea, has also turned into popular viewing, especially for people wanting a laugh at the toffs who can afford the finer things in life.
Now VICE has debuted their very own reality series, its twitter-hyped, trending sensation, The Only Way Is Dalston (official name Dalston Superstars).
The show's blurb reads:
VICE is delighted to introduce Dalston Superstars, a startling, fresh look at the lives of five young creatives from London's coolest hangout, Dalston. This week the gang are lifting the lid on the bitching and drama involved in running the hottest club-night in town. Swag, bitches!
Swag indeed... erm, what? The online series features people living in what looks like run-down flats in East London's Dalston area. There's Steffan, described as "a bedroom chemist, cooking up outfits that walk the improbable line between disco diva and high-school massacrist". So that seems straightforward enough.
Vee who is an "artist, singer, stylist, DJ", Sam "a brash, engaging stylist", Anna who has "the explosive artistic/sexual imagination of someone 200 times her age" and Maeve, who "after stints in Sydney, Paris, Milan, New York, Tokyo and, erm, Basingstoke (!?) exploded onto the East London scene two years ago".
Not one of them is likeable. From this first episode they appear a bunch of lazy, stroppy, arrogant, drug-taking idiots, trying so hard to be cool they just seem pathetic. Empathy-inducing TOWIE this is not. Nor is it the aspirational TV viewing of Made In Chelsea.
HuffPost blogger Scott Bryan is glad the series has been made,he wrote: "East Londoners need to have the piss taken out of them...urgently." There's definitely a lot of opportunities for mockery in this online debut, but if a TV channel picks up this series to air it mainstream, we may just have a little cry.