The Beautiful Life Plot Details Revealed
If the unfashionably early demise of The CW series “The Beautiful Life: TBL” left you with a closet full of questions—Who’s the father of Sonja’s (Mischa Barton) baby? Is Raina’s (Sara Paxton) brother sleeping with the fishes?—you’re not alone. Just a few days ago we pondered these same (seemingly unanswerable) questions. But we needed a little closure, so Hollywood Crush caught up with a member of the model drama’s production staff who spilled major details about the series including what we would have seen in upcoming episodes (hint: sex, lies and murder!).
As was earlier reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the cast and crew were in the middle of filming the seventh episode when news broke last Friday that the show would be canceled. (Ironically they were ahead of production compared to other CW shows, even though they started two weeks late). Even more surprisingly, they didn’t hear the news first from CW brass. Nope, they heard it like the rest of us—through the media! According to our insider, the news was leaked to THR 10 minutes before executives informed producers the series was dunzo. Our source also added that a script for the eighth episode was finished and scripts for the ninth and tenth episodes were in various stages of completion.
Just like any soap, the first few episodes of “TBL” were setting the stage for all the juicy drama to ensue. In fact, starting with episode 3 the series was to take quite a sexy turn. “If they just aired the first four episodes, I think people would have been hooked,” our source said. But instead the series was strangled before it got a chance to breathe. Taking pity on us poor, abandoned viewers, our source answered five of our burning questions left in the series’ wake. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. If you’re holding out for an online run or DVD (though our insider said a DVD is highly unlikely with so few episodes in the can), you might want to click away NOW.
1. Who is the father of Sonja’s baby?
Claudia’s (Elle Macpherson, pictured) husband! Richard (played by Ed Quinn whom you may recognize as vampire Stan from “True Blood” or as Nathan Stark on “Eureka”) is the head of a large cosmetics company, and in the wake of Sonja’s scandal he decides to design a new makeup line called “Reinvention,” using Sonja as the face of the product. Though it appears he’s doing all of this to appease wife Claudia, he’s really doing it to get back together with Sonja. During a visit to Richard’s office, Claudia finds one of Sonja’s earrings, clueing her in to what’s going on. Sonja eventually leaves Claudia’s agency out of guilt because of the rekindled affair, though wouldn’t you know, several episodes later her new agency is bought by none other than Claudia, meaning the enemies are reunited.
2. Why was Raina’s (Sara Paxton) father in prison?
He’s the head of the Russian mob in New York and was arrested for racketeering!
3. Is Raina’s brother Alex (Billy Magnussen) sleeping with the fishes?
Alex apparently swiped a lot of money from the mob to buy a club. Raina makes a deal with their father that she’ll be a good daughter if Alex isn’t offed. Daddy Dearest accepts the offer but that doesn’t save Alex from wearing cement shoes! Alex is later done in by Raina’s ex-boyfriend Dimitri (more on him to come)!
4. Did Chris (Ben Hollingsworth, pictured) have to sleep on the floor or did he get to have a model slumber party in Raina’s bed?
Turns out the two don’t do the deed until episode 7 because Raina is skittish about sex after being heartbroken by Dimitri. And in a cruel twist of fate, the comely couple decide to have sex right as Alex is being murdered! If only they’d stayed at the party a little longer, they may have been able to save him.
5. What was the history between Sonja and Cole (Nico Tortorella)? It seemed like something was there, right?
We already know the two go back at least three years to when that photo of Sonja was taken doing cocaine. But Sonja and Cole are another pair who end up hitting the sheets in episode 7.
Man, that episode 7 must be something! Seriously, seriously juicy stuff, right? Our source also said we’ll miss Nico walking in a real Lacoste show, a photo shoot in the real Calvin Klein offices and Sonja’s halloween costume designed by up-and-comer Erin Fetherston.
The series was truly being embraced by the fashion industry, but it may have been neglect on the part of the network that led to the series’ ugly end. Our source said The CW put most of its ad dollars behind the trusted “Melrose Place” brand instead of the fledgling “TBL.” “We had zero advertising, whatsoever,” our insider said. Or at least, it didn’t compare to the deluge of press the reboot received. What a waste of the pretty.
