TV NEWS: Mischa Barton's New Series "A Beautiful Life"

I wish I could go back to the days when I wasn't aware that fan-worshiped TV actors eventually grow tired of their small-time stardom and try to venture off into film by unceremoniously ditching their series (*cough*Katherine Heigl*cough*). It's that sort of disrespect that eventually puts a smile on my face when said actor doesn't quite make it in the big leagues.

Less than three years ago, Mischa Barton was one of those ungrateful actors. Maybe "The O.C." wasn't a challenge for her anymore, but by encouraging its creator to kill her off, she destroyed one of the best teen dramas to hit the small screen since "Dawson's Creek." These days, most actors settle for juggling a film and TV career, like Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother" to Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Blake Lively ("Gossip Girl" to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Matthew Fox ("Lost" to Vantage Point). Some do so in order to test the waters and see if they're bankable, knowing full well that perhaps their charisma and charm won't translate as well to the big screen. Those who delude themselves into thinking they're clearly meant for greatness, however, fall flat on their face and end up right back on TV.

So what did Mischa settle for, after not 1, but 6 completely ignored films that were released? The CW's drama pilot "A Beautiful Life," which "revolves around a group of models living together in a co-ed residence in New York." "Top Model" with a better script? I think Mischa's found her calling. I've always thought of her as a better model than actress, and in this series she'll play "a supermodel and veteran of the high-fashion circuit who is struggling to keep on top and is in danger of slipping." I'm assuming unless some scandalous shit happens or there are a crapload of A-list cameos/guest-stars, I'll lose interest in it as quickly as I did the "The Hills."

Mischa still has several films in the works for the next two years. She's already wrapped up two horror flicks (Homecoming and Walled In), an Indian drama called Bhopal: Prayer for Rain about a natural disaster that killed thousands with Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar) and Martin Sheen (and yes Indian people), and the indie drama Don't Fade Away about a struggling musician. She's about to start filming the corny teen comedy The Science of Cool with Jeremy Sumpter ("Friday Night Lights" and Peter Pan) and the indie drama Upstate with Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl").

Update: Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) is also starring.