The Latest Buzz is a sitcom about five teenagers who become writers of a failing magazine called Teen Buzz. It is produced by and originally aired on the Canadian Family Channel. The new staff consist of:
- Rebecca Harper, a happy-go-lucky, sugary sweet Team Mom who gets on the other characters' nerves (not to mention the audience's nerves).
- Michael Davies, a flamboyant, fashion-obsessed Camp Straight.
- Noah Jackson, the practical joker who has a crush on Rebecca.
- Amanda Pierce, a selfish but sweet rich girl who often clashes with Rebecca and has a crush on Wilder. She is Wilder's long-term love interest.
- Wilder Wilder, an easygoing Cloudcuckoolander who is Amanda's long term love interest.
- Mr. Andrew Shepherd, the school media studies teacher.
- D.J., the editor of Teen Buzz magazine.
Being a Canadian teen sitcom that airs on Family, there are no great surprises here; but there's some excellent UST between the two main couples Amanda/Wilder and Rebecca/Noah, as well as Michael's Ambiguously Gay antics. It was released on DVD after ending in April 2010.
Tropes Include:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Yolanda to Michael. Michael doesn't like her that way, but starts dating her in the third season and having an on-again, off-again relationship.
- Adults Are Useless: Averted.
- Affectionate Nickname: Noah's nickname for Rebecca is "R", which is the first letter in her name.
- Affectionate Parody: Sherrie Overwood, the singer that Amanda interviews in "The Face the Music Issue" is a parody of singer Carrie Underwood.
- Air Guitar: One episode has Wilder and his father entering an air guitar championship.
- All Gays Love Theater: Michael loves theater and musicals. See Ambiguously Gay below.
- All Girls Like Ponies: Amanda, even going so far as attempting to hide her pony in the office when she thought her father was going to take it away.
- All Women Love Shoes: Amanda and, to a lesser extent D.J. Even Naïve Everygirl Rebbecca Harper falls under the spell of a fabulous pair of mood-changing red shoes in the Wizard of Oz homage episode "The Wonderful Wizard of Buzz Issue".
- Alpha Bitch: Amanda's friend Caitlin in the episode "The Peer Pressure Issue" who's only mean to Amanda's friends.
- Amanda also started off as one, but became more nicer throughout the series.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Rebecca's dad keeps embarrassing her in "The Parents Issue" when the Buzz has the "Take Your Parent To Work" day. She got so annoyed by his antics that she eventually calls him out on it, but only to hurt his feelings as a result.
- Ambiguously Gay: Michael. Being a kid's show, they can't actually state that he is gay but he is a teenage boy who writes the magazine's gossip column, is obsessed with fashion, and loves musicals (and sings the female parts). The second season did try and show he was interested in women with varying levels of success.
- Ambiguous Syntax: In one episode a psychic tells Michael that he will encounter "a 6-foot man eating chicken". He then sees his teacher, who is 6 feet tall, eating chicken and becomes convinced that the psychic is genuine.
- An Aesop
- Ascended Extra: Both Cody Herman and Yolanda show up frequently in several episodes, despite only being credited as guest stars.
- Almost every minor character appears in more than one episode, including the recurring ones.
- Ascended Fanboy: Michael is a fan of the musical Good Witch, Bad Witch.
- Attention Whore: Michael.
- Awful Truth: "The Truth Hurts Issue" had a plot where Amanda and Big Wilder are trying to convince Wilder that "Groundhog's Day" is not a real holiday.
- Back Door Pilot: "The Meet The Wilders Issue" was slated as a back door pilot for the aforementioned Spin-Off series called Meet The Wilders, which would follow Wilder and his family, but was never picked up for some reason. See
What Could Have Been below for more details. - Batman Gambit: Wilder, to a certain extent. In the First Impressions episode, he pretends not to remember how he met Amanda so that she'll be determined to make him remember... which is exactly what he wants.
- Beleaguered Assistant: "Daddy's Assistant", who is constantly getting bizarre requests foisted on him by Amanda, and—to a lesser extent—her father. When he finally appears on screen in the series finale, he is haggard and old before his time.
- The Bet: In "The Love Me, Love Me Not Issue", Amanda, Michael and Wilder make a bet about who can last longer without using their cellphone or having it. Guess who wins the bet? Amanda.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Yolanda is a nice girl, but in "The Bully Issue", she becomes very controlling towards Michael and always bossing him around.
- Bittersweet Ending: The series finale. The "sweet" parts are where Amanda and Wilder share their first kiss at the airport, Michael gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to star alongside in a movie with Dex Cobra and D.J. and Mr. Shepherd finally get married. The only "bitter" part is that The Boss announces that Teen Buzz are replacing the original staff with new students. Rebecca starts a Save Buzz rally so that they wouldn't be replaced by the new students, but comes to realize, after Noah informed her that things have to come to an end, including the Buzz, that leaving the place is for the best..
- Book Dumb: Wilder.
- Breakout Character: Again, Wilder. He became one of the most popular characters on the show and was praised by fans with his goofiness and hilarious personality, even getting his own spin-off called Meet The Wilders that never got picked up by Family.
- The Bro Code / Bros Before Hoes: Wilder talks about this when Michael dates Amanda in one episode, calling it one of the "guy rules", specifically the rule "pals before gals".
- In "The Mum's the Word Issue", there's also the "mothers before brothers" rule.
- Camp Straight: Michael.
- Cassandra Truth: In "The Peer Pressure Issue", Amanda's friends keep telling her that Caitlin is being very mean to them. She doesn't listen to them until she finally sees her hurting Rebecca's feelings right in front of her.
- No one doesn't believe Noah when he says that he's being stalked by Zuzu Moon until Rebecca walks in on Zuzu Moon kissing Noah!!.
- The Cast Showoff: The actor who plays Wilder is an award-winning trampolinist, so naturally in one episode he shows off his skills.
- Amanda's actress is also a singer, as well as singing the theme song she sings in three different episodes.
- Catchphrase: Wilder's "Awestruck."
- Rebecca's "Oh, dear".
- Michael's saying "Gasp!" or "Gag!" without actually doing those actions.
- Celebrity Star: The show had a handful of guest stars from other Family Original Series like Ashley Leggat, Daniel Magder (both from Life with Derek), Michael D'Ascenzo (from Naturally, Sadie) and many more.
- Christmas Episode: "The Happy Holidays Issue".
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Rebecca becomes jealous when Zuzu Moon starts to befriend Noah and even sharing their first kiss.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Wilder.
- Control Freak: Rebecca. Her friends sometimes call her a nerd whenever she's efficient at things.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Wilder. He makes his own salsa from marmalade and pepper.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Wilder becomes jealous when he finds out that Michael is dating Amanda. To retaliate, he brings Yolanda, Michael's ex-girlfriend, as his date to make them both jealous.
- Noah also became jealous of Rebecca and Elliot's close friendship in one episode after he find out that Rebecca shared her first kiss with him during the summer in Paris.
- Daddy's Girl:
- Amanda, who can sometimes come off as a Spoiled Brat as a result.
- Rebecca is also a Daddy's Girl.
- Darker and Edgier: The original pilot was this via à vis the series.
- Deadpan Snarker: Michael, Noah and Amanda embodied this trope.
- Disappeared Dad: Michael is probably the only kid out of the five who hasn't had his father seen or mentioned throughout the series. We've only seen his mom in two episodes, but not his dad.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Wilder in "The Showdown Issue" completely loses his focus during a game of dodgeball while Amanda continues to flirt with him, only to lose at dodgeball for the first time by Michael.
- The Ditz: Wilder.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Vanessa Morgan, who plays Amanda, sings the theme song.
- Dogged Nice Girl: Rebecca to Noah, who's also a Dogged Nice Guy to her; Yolanda to Michael, and Amanda to Wilder.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Noah to Rebecca as well as Mr. Shepherd to D.J.
- Domestic Abuse: Yolanda in the episode "The Bully Issue" towards Michael.
- Drama Club: Michael and Rebecca join the drama club in "The Meet the Wilders Issue".
- Embarrassing Cover Up: In "The Pet Peeves Issue", Amanda is attempting to hide her pet pony in the office. When the others complain about the smell of horse dung, Amanda claims it is her new perfume.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Wilder actually has two embarrassing middle names: "Gulliver" and "Atticus".
- Embarrassing Nickname: At high school, D.J.'s nickname was 'Triangle Head'. Which may have been Mr. Shepherd's fault.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": "Daddy's Assistant" and "Boss Man".
- Everyone Went to School Together: D.J. and Mr. Shepherd went to high school together.
- Evil Redhead: Cody Herman.
- Evil Twin: Wilder has one in "The Halloween Issue" who's an evil doppleganger.
- Expy: Amanda can be easily compared to London Tipton, but smarter.
- Fag Hag: Rebecca and Amanda are both best friends with Michael, but it's a subversion since he's not exactly gay.
- The Fashionista: Both Amanda and Michael. That's kind of the reason why they're friends.
- Fashion Show: The Buzz has one in "The Fake Out Issue".
- Flash Back: The episode "The First Impressions Issue" showed flashbacks of how the gang first met each other.
- Flash Forward: In "The Into The Future Issue", the gang gets a glimpse of what their lives would be like in 20 years: Rebecca is an unsuccessful journalist (albeit lonely), Amanda is a famous singer and married to Michael, who is also her agent, Wilder is a fat millionaire with Noah as his servant, and D.J. is engaged to Mr. Shepherd, whose body is half machine. The gang at the end of the episode all take steps to assure that this future doesn't happen.
- Game Show Appearance: Michael, Noah, and Wilder enter in a televised contest for the show Pizza Patrol.
- Genki Girl: Rebecca.
- The Ghost: "Daddy's Assistant", whom Amanda was constantly harassing on the phone. He finally appears on screen in the Grand Finale. Rebecca's Baba would likewise often be on the phone to Rebecca, but unlike Daddy's assistant, she never made it on screen.
- Also D.J.'s mother, who was often on the phone hassling D.J. about her (non-existent) love life.
- Give Geeks a Chance: Despite not having any actual feelings for her, Michael does give Yolanda a chance of dating her.
- Go-Getter Girl: Rebecca.
- Grammar Correction Gag: In "The Pet Peeves Issue", Michael complains to Rebecca that she is always correcting his grammar. She then points out that he ended a sentence with a preposition.
- Grand Finale
- Halloween Episode: "The Halloween Issue".
- Heel Realization: Amanda in "The Peer Pressure Issue" when she finally realizes that her friend Caitlin was being very mean to her friends. She says if she didn't join Teen Buzz, she would've still been mean.
- Helicopter Parents: D.J.'s mother, who's constantly harrassing her on the phone about her love life.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: Rebecca's grandma, Baba and D.J.'s mother. Averted with Amanda's dad's assistant, who finally makes his appearance in the series finale.
- Hiccup Hijinks: "Face The Music Issue" has Rebecca get hiccups when she eats something spicy. Noah tries everything to cure her. She's eventually cured when Noah kisses her. He later gets hiccups.
- High-School Dance: "The School Dance Issue" and "The Hip Hop Issue" has one.
- I Call Her "Vera": Michael names his fancy new desk 'Betsy' (just before he has to return it).
- Identical Stranger: Chase, Amanda's date in "The Hip Hop Issue" looks exactly like Wilder.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episode title always end with "Issue".
- Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: In "The Infamous Issue", Rebecca's hilariously bad dancing leaks online on Glee Tube and she becomes a laughing stock.
- Jerkass: Cody Herman. Noah can also count as this, but he's more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Noah. Amanda can be cruel and selfish sometimes, but she is very considerate and does care about her friends.
- Kid Com
- Laugh Track: The only Family Original Series to date to use canned laughter, which is very, very obviously fake and seemingly fires off at random.
- Like Father, Like Son / Strong Family Resemblance: Wilder and his dad Big Wilder share a few things in common.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Amanda.
- Lovable Nerd: Yolanda.
- The Makeover: In "The Makeover Issue", Amanda gives Rebecca a makeover when she wants to sit at the cool table for an article.
- In one episode, Amanda gives Rebecca's bedroom a makeover also, but when it was done, Rebecca immediately hated how it was decorated.
- Make Up or Break Up: Noah and Rebecca start going out, but break up when Noah found out that Rebecca kissed Elliot. They eventually get back together in the later episodes after they realize how much they miss each other.
- Michael and Yolanda break up for a while and then get back together all of a sudden.
- Same goes for D.J. and Mr. Shepherd, which they actually get married in the finale.
- Averted with Amanda and Wilder, who don't get together until almost at the very end of the third season.
- Missing Mom: Rebecca's mom died when Rebecca was young.
- "Mission: Impossible" Cable Drop: Michael uses it to retrieve a column from D.J.'s desk.
- My Own Private "I Do": In the Grand Finale, the stress of planning an enormous wedding (mostly to please D.J.'s mother) causes D.J. and Mr Shepherd to split up. When the kids at Teen Buzz find out, they arrange a private ceremony on the roof of the building and trick D.J. and Shepherd into turning up under false pretenses. They realize they really do love each other and go through with the ceremony.
- Naïve Everygirl: Rebecca.
- No Name Given: Neither Amanda's "Daddy's Assistant" or "The Boss Man" have had their real names revealed at all during the show's run.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: In The First Impressions Issue, Wilder pretends that he doesn't remember how he met Amanda.
- Official Couple: Amanda and Wilder.
- They get together near the end of the series, ending the series as a couple.
- Also Rebecca and Noah; D.J. and Mr. Andrew Shepherd.
- Only Known by Initials: D.J.'s real name is Dianne Jeffries, though anyone rarely calls her that.
- Opposites Attract: Again, Amanda and Wilder.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Rebecca loves baseball and would sometimes go to the batting cages whenever she feels bad. She even has a framed picture of baseball player Justin Morneau at her desk.
- Phone Aholic Teenager: Amanda is usually seen talking on the phone with her "Daddy's Assistant" as well as Rebecca always talking on the phone with her grandma.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Rebecca and Michael.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Mr. Shepherd.
- Relationship Upgrade: With all of the main couples on the show.
- Noah and Rebecca in the second season.
- Yolanda and Michael in that exact same season, too.
- Amanda and Wilder almost at the very end of the third season as well.
- D.J. and Mr. Shepherd in the third season and finally getting married.
- Remember the New Guy?: Yolanda is said to be an old childhood friend of Michael, though she hasn't been seen nor referenced by Michael in the earlier episodes.
- Repetitive Name: Wilder Wilder.
- The Reveal: Amanda's "Daddy's Assistant" finally makes his first appearance in the finale, but his name isn't revealed.
- Rich Bitch: Amanda.
- Rip Tailoring: A variation occurs when Amanda gets a toner stain on her evening gown before a big awards ceremony. After trying and failing to remove the stain, she instead puts stains over the rest of the dress; turning it into a leopard spot pattern.
- The Rival: Cody Herman towards the Teen Buzz staff.
- Also Priscilla from Teen Buzz France towards Amanda, as well as Teen Buzz France to the Teen Buzz in America.
- Running Gag: Everytime when Mr. Shepherd is about to eat his lunch, someone would interrupt him by stepping into his office whenever they need to talk to him.
- Sassy Black Woman: D.J. is an aversion of this trope.
- Satiating Sandwich: Wilder is obsessed with creating the perfect sandwich.
- School Newspaper News Hound: More of a news magazine hound.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: One of the stories in the Halloween Episode has Mr Shepherd staging one so he can eat his lunch in peace.
- Show Within a Show: Noah and Wilder's favorite show, Pizza Patrol.
- Soapbox Sadie: Rebecca in the finale. She starts a rally about saving Teen Buzz when it's announced that it would be replaced by new students.
- Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: One episode has Michael desperate to get validation for his fashion choices from a total stranger after he thinks the stranger made a sarcastic remark about his tie.
- Spin-Off: The unaired pilot Meet the Wilders.
- Spit Take: Everyone but Amanda does this upon seeing that Amanda's date looks exactly like Wilder, though it takes Wilder meeting him a couple of times.
- Stalker with a Crush: Zuzu Moon towards Noah; Yolanda towards Michael, though in the later episodes, they end up in a relationship.
- Student Council President: Rebecca runs against Cody Herman for president in "The Power Tripping Issue", but ends up losing the election to him.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Amanda.
- Skater Dude: Wilder.
- Token Minority: Michael, Amanda and D.J., respectively.
- True Companions: The Teen Buzz staff.
- Tsundere: Rebecca and Noah towards each other.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Noah and Rebecca. And Amanda and Wilder with loads as well.
- The Unreveal: The real names of Amanda's "Daddy's Assistant" and "The Boss Man" were never revealed.
- Unseen No More: Amanda is constantly seen hounding on her phone to "Daddy's Assistant", who works for her father. Said man finally appears in person in the series finale, where the gang remark that this was the guy she had been pestering this whole time
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Rebecca and Amanda.
- The Voice: The Boss Man, only ever heard as a voice at the other end of D.J.'s telephone.
- Wacky Canadians Have Wacky Names: Again, Wilder Gulliver Atticus Wilder.
- Wardrobe Wound: Amanda understandably freaks out when her designer dress gets a toner stain on it in "The Gala Issue". This leads to some creative Rip Tailoring.
- Wedding Finale:In the Grand Finale, the stress of planning an enormous wedding (mostly to please D.J.'s mother) causes D.J. and Mr Shepherd to split up. When the kids at Teen Buzz find out, they arrange a private ceremony on the roof of the building and trick D.J. and Shepherd into turning up under false pretenses. They realize they really do love each other and go through with the ceremony.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The episode "The Wonderful Wizard of Buzz Issue" was a homage to the movie The Wizard of Oz.
- The Halloween Episode has this as well. One of the scary stories that the gang are telling where Michael, Noah and Wilder are "Ghost Blasters", which is also a Shout-Out to the movie Ghostbusters (1984).
- Will They or Won't They?: We've seen it happen with some of the three main couples on the show with surprising outcomes:
- Rebecca and Noah - They do, but they break up for a while and actually get back together for good.
- Wilder and Amanda - They do in "The Hip Hop Issue" and in the finale "The Final Issue" they share there first kiss.
- D.J. and Mr. Shepherd - They do and they finally tie the knot in the finale.
- You Look Familiar: Inverted. Munro Chambers's twin brother Thomas has showed up in two different episodes playing different roles: Playing Wilder's Evil Twin in the Halloween Episode and a prince named Chase in "The Hip Hop Issue".
