Famous in Love airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on Freeform, but we are also binging it via the Freeform app and Freeform.com. If you’re binging it — read all our recaps here. If, instead, you're watching it weekly, then you're in the right place.
Paige Townsen (Bella Thorne) is just your typical SoCal college student who lives with her two best friends, Cassie (Georgie Flores), a spunky and unfiltered brunette with a surprising secret pastime, and Jake (Charlie DePew), a fit, budding screenwriter and director who harbors feelings for Paige. The three of them are just the best of friends, and everything seems hunky-dory, which means that they won't be for long. Given her advanced economic courses and obsession (OBSESSION) with school, clearly Paige is supposed to be bookish (but with perfect eye lashes and hair). Her parents always told her that a good education is the key to any career, and she lives and breathes by this creed.
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One day, Cassie gets wind of an open audition for the role of August Roch (not to be confused with the classic, August Rush), the lead character in a super popular book series, Locked, and suggests that she and Paige go audition just for shits and giggles. (This show gets super meta.) But, despite their fooling around, Paige actually delivers an A+ audition (watch out, Emma Stone) and wows the producers, who call her back to read with one of the leading men of the film: former child star and resident Hollywood bachelor, Rainer Devon (Carter Jenkins). His mom, Nina (Perrey Reeves), also happens to be in charge of the film's production. It's clear from the moment we meet her that she is as aggressive as she is manipulative, but she puts on a good front — especially in front of her not-too-smart son.
As Paige gets closer to landing the lead role, we are introduced to a raven-haired mean girl, Alexis (Niki Koss) who also happens to be Ashley Benson's doppelgånger. Alexis used to star a TV show with Rainer and another popular actor, bad boy Jordan Wilder (Keith Powers — my favorite character), and had her sights set on playing August because she is broke as a joke and can't land any roles. It's clear that a girl-feud between the two young actresses is brewing. Meanwhile, there's a bro-battle in the mix with the wedge between Jordan and Rainer getting deeper and deeper due to gossip headlines reporting that Rainer's ex-girlfriend, Tangey Turner (Pepi Sonuga), hooked up with Jordan behind Rainer's back. They've all been in show biz for a while so you know there' s murky back story to it all that we don't know — yet.
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And would you believe it, little ole Paige Townsen landed the role of a lifetime! Truly incredible. Her make-out scene and chemistry with Rainer, who will play one of her love interests and Jordan, who will play the other, just stole the hearts of everyone in the room. (Plus — they could hire her for a lot less than another real actress.) She is well on her way to becoming famous! By the end of the episode, Paige is walking a red carpet into a night club, debuting as August Roch,while secretly freaking out because: homework. Oh, and Jordan is sleeping with Rainer's mom, which is why he has a role in Locked.
So, how Famous in Love is Paige Townsen on a scale of Disney Channel extra (1) to Jennifer Lawrence (10)?
2. Her name may be in lights outside the club, but no one knows who the eff she is.