Grosse Pointe was a Show Within a Show Work Com that aired on The WB from 2000 to 2001. Based on Darren Star's experiences working on Beverly Hills, 90210, it revolved around the behind-the-scenes antics of an eponymous, struggling WB Teen Drama, and starred Irene Molloy, Bonnie Somerville, Al Santos, William Ragsdale, Lindsay Sloane, Kyle Howard, Kohl Sudduth, and later Nat Faxon. It also frequently featured cameos from stars of other WB and/or Darren Star series.
Although it was highly reviewed by critics it lasted only 17 episodes due to low ratings, but it was later fortunately released on DVD. It can be considered a Show Within a Show version of another similarly screwed-over series, Action. Not to be confused with Grosse Pointe Blank.
The show contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adam Westing: Jason Priestley as a sex addict. Sarah Michelle Gellar as an Emmy panderer
- Alpha Bitch: Hunter. In "Devil In A Blue Dress" it turns out that it might be due to her starving herself to look good for the cameras after deliberately putting on weight to play Monica Lewinsky in a movie made her pleasant.
- Ambiguously Gay: Kevin the production assistant.
- Armored Closet Gay: The actor playing Brad and Becky's dad on the Show Within a Show lusts for Johnny.
- As Himself: Cameos by Jason Priestley, Kristin Davis, Carly Pope, Leslie Bibb, Elizabeth Berkeley, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
- Based on a True Story: The behind-the-scenes drama of Beverly Hills, 90210.
- Butt-Monkey: Dave in his quest to be a real actor and not simply Johnny's stand-in for scene blocking.
- Composite Character: Courtney is a mix of Jennie Garth (blonde, from Arizona) and Tiffani Thiessen (new Show Within a Show cast member whose character becomes a troublemaker).
- Daughter of a Whore: Hunter, compliments of one of her Party Girl mother's many drunken one-night stands.
- Dawson Casting: Invoked and mocked with Quentin, who is in his thirties, balding, and playing teenage Stone Anders.
- Fanservice: In addition to a swimming hole scene where everybody strips to their underwear, the episode "Satisfaction" has new female executive producer Shawn pander to the female viewership by stripping Johnny for an art class scene and throwing in blatant sexuality. Once she's fired over it, Rob promptly writes and films a half-naked catfight scene in the girls' locker room.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every episode shares a title with an existing movie at the time and somehow gels with the episode's theme, such as "Passion Fish " revolving around lesbianism.
- Mistaken for Gay: Marcy does this to Sarah Michelle Gellar in the episode "Passion Fish" when Sarah wants to do a Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss with Marcy in the wake of Sarah's famed kiss with Selma Blair in Cruel Intentions. It turns out that Sarah thought it was a way to snag an Emmy nomination.
- Ms. Fanservice:
- In the episode "Star Wars" a Japanese ad exec reveals that Courtney is known in Japan as "Miss Big Breasts." Courtney's ex-boyfriend also sells some old nude photos of her to the tabloids in "Barenaked In America."
- Marcy intentionally tries to be this in "Sleeping With The Enemy," getting a revealing Jennifer Lopez -style dress for a movie premiere that winds up falling apart after a magazine article says she's not sexy.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The main cast of the Show Within a Show are all Expys of the Beverly Hills, 90210 cast as well as the actors portraying them. Rob Fields, the In-Universe creator of the Show Within a Show is a parody of Darren Star, the creator of Beverly Hills 90210. Executive Meddling by Aaron Spelling forced them to remove all Tori Spelling comparisons from Marcy.
- Older Than He Looks: Quentin, in a Shout-Out to Gabrielle Carteris, is in his 30s and balding.
- Put on a Bus: Hope Lustig, as Joely Fisher departed to do Normal Ohio.
