The scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite may have been scripted on Gossip Girl, but Bravo documented the real lives of New York City prep school kids on the short-lived NYC Prep.
NYC Prep premiered in June 2009 and aired for eight episodes. The show followed Camille Isobel Hughes, Jessica “Jessie” Leavitt, Kelli Brooke Tomashoff, Sebastian Oppenheim, Taylor DiGiovanni and Peter Cary “PC” Peterson as they balanced partying, fashion shows, charity events, shopping and school.
“NYC Prep chronicles the lives of a group of privileged teenagers who are key players in Manhattan’s elite high school scene,” Bravo’s official description of the show reads. “Students who travel in packs – whether it’s on sophisticated vacations or to a townhouse for an exclusive midnight party, their lives intertwine as they network, shop, party, study, date and write college applications. Everyone’s beautiful and everyone’s connected.”
PC, who is the grandson of self-made billionaire banker Pete Peterson, declared to New York Magazine in July 2009 that “everything in New York City is about connection.”
“It’s who you know and how much money you have,” he said. “It’s really sad. And I am not saying I’m like that. But that’s what New York is: money and power.”
Kelli, for her part, landed a spot on the series thanks to her friendship with Real Housewives of New York City star Jill Zarin’s daughter’s Ally, who she went to school with at the time.
“I went into the den with my parents and told them, ‘Um, after school today, Ally took me to audition for a reality show, and we have to sign the contract by tomorrow,’” Kelli recalled to NY Magazine at the time. “I also promised my parents that it wouldn’t interfere with my homework.”
While the show only aired for one season, it has a cult following. As a result, Bravo decided to air a marathon on Friday, April 10, to encourage people to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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If you missed Bravo’s marathon of the short-lived reality series on Friday, episode of NYC Prep are available to stream on BravoTV.com
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