There’s definitely something to be said about starring in your own reality television show in the early 2010s. Not only did she have her own reality show, Texas teenager Liz Lee didn’t even know that My Life as Liz was even about her until the pilot was shown to her. Despite being a blueprint for high schoolers who were still glued to MTV and VH1 at the time, the show was only granted for two seasons before being axed by the network.
Now, Liz Lee has popped up on TikTok with a viral video about her role in the eponymous show, sparking what I’m calling LizTok. She’s taken to the entertainment platform with ease, sharing stories about My Life as Liz and answering questions from those who watched it as it was airing. Surprisingly, just about everything seen on-screen was genuinely unscripted, which sparked even more interest in her story. In fact, she continues her online story responding to someone who said, “I thought it was like entirely scripted I thought it was like a mockumentary type thing damn.”
She shares how she hadn’t even auditioned for the role as the titular character, and had actually been approached by MTV because her high school audio/video teacher had sent them a rehearsal tape in response to a casting call. However, her teacher had given each of her students this rehearsal tape project, meaning that she had submitted various entries. It wasn’t until after many interviews that MTV decided to turn on their cameras and follow Liz and her friends for a while.
Then, she was approached with the pilot that would begin her tumultuous television journey. Despite being incredibly popular among a niche group of Tumblr-using teenagers, the show came to a quick end, and Liz pursued a career in the arts.
Personally, I was one of those Tumblr-using teenagers, and didn’t watch the show, though definitely had friends who did. In fact, those same friends went on to watch similar shows like Awkward and Faking It.
