Life is hard – especially when you’re a teenager. From peer pressure and raging hormones to the challenge of just trying to get through high school, the teenage years are truly a time of self discovery. It’s a subject that has long since been depicted in many popular movies and TV shows throughout the years. Along with such films like the AMERICAN PIE series, plus TV dramas like BEVERLY HILLS, 90210, DAWSON’S CREEK, THE OC, GOSSIP GIRL and others, web series have also taken a look at the lives and struggles of teenagers.

The drama YOUTHFUL DAZE, created by Bryan James (who also stars), focuses on a group of young adults whose lives are impacted by the goings-on at one of Southern California’s most prestigious high schools – Westfield Prep, where along with the reading, writing and ‘rithmetic, there’s plenty of drama, romance and betrayal to go around. The first season of 12 shows, which debuted last October, can be seen on its official Youtube page (see link below), and season 2 is slated to debut sometime next February exclusively on Blip.TV (though an agreement with that site is currently in the negotiation stages, according to James).

YOUTHFUL DAZE stars James as Drew Castle, the self-proclaimed “king of Westfield Prep” whose life – and behavior towards everyone else – changes after his parents are killed in a car accident. A year later, he travels down a dark path that leads him to become a drug dealer. Kristen Deluca plays Amanda Mars, the town’s newest resident, as well as Westfield Prep’s newest student. Amanda befriends Drew, and not only falls in love with him, but also slowly tries to save him from his destructive ways.

Drew’s sister Jade (Brynn Samms) is also trying to rebuild her life after their parents’ death, but her ex-boyfriend Billy (played by Sam Kinsey) as well as a mysterious classmate, Oliver (Easton Schirra), further complicate her life.

There’s also Drew’s best friend Mallorie (Jessica Osgood), a wealthy, intimidating young woman who begins a relationship that threatens to turn her life upside down. Along with Drew and Mallorie, there’s Sean Mercer (Ash Nair), a fun loving billionaire playboy who, like Drew and Mallorie, is feared by the rest of their classmates throughout the school. Rounding out the cast is Mani Yarosh as Aubrey Turner, a loner who carries on a secret, and illicit, relationship with the on-campus security guard (played by Wes Okerson).

Inspired by many of those shows mentioned above, James initially developed YOUTHFUL DAZE as a feature length film, but soon found that the emerging popularity and potential of web series as a viable entertainment medium would work to his show’s advantage. “The show was developed by the producers (James, Osgood, Schirra, Conor Beesemyer, and Michael Marchesan) on the first season a few years before the actual first season came together. We shot a trailer for it, thinking it would be a movie, and then we moved more into the idea of making it into a web series as time went by. The idea for the show came from wanting to create a new kind of teen drama series, similar to the classics but with a more current, possibly edgier quality to it as well,” he recalls.

James had little trouble finding talented actors who would comprise the show’s ensemble. “The cast was found through networking in Hollywood. Acting classes, workshops, referrals. Everyone came together because they believed in the project and wanted to do something special with their time and talents,” James says. From there, filming the series’ first season began in earnest. “It was a lot of work in not a lot of days. We shot the first season over the course of two and a half months filming about 15 days. It was a great learning experience,” according to James.

Only in its first season, YOUTHFUL DAZE has achieved a substantial worldwide fan following among viewers aged 13-17, as well as popularity through its social media presence on Facebook and Twitter (see links below). Along with its high viewership, the overall quality of the series is another key part of its success. “I think the scope of the show, as well as the writing and the quality of it, set it apart from other series. This isn’t just a typical web series; this is something that could also be a television series one day,” says James.

While he hopes to make a profit through the series, James’ overall goal with YOUTHFUL DAZE is simple: “Artistically I would love for this show to go down as a new kind of web series, (as) something that broke barriers of what people thought of when they watched a web series,” he says. YOUTHFUL DAZE proves that no matter how complicated and dramatic life can be for a teenager, it’s important to know that they’re not alone. “Being a teenager is hard for everyone, it doesn’t matter your circumstances or where you come from. The things teens go through are universal and the show’s core theme is that friendship and strength can get you through the tough times in life, and a little debauchery every now and then doesn’t hurt either,” James says.

ON THE WEB: www.youthfuldaze.com

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/YouthfulDazeTube

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/youthfuldaze

TWITTER: twitter.com/youthfuldaze