Chelan Simmons


VIDEO: Watch the series premiere of L.A. Complex now


Check out the top five reasons why we find L.A. Complex addicting:

No. 1: It's Degrassi all grown up
The soap was initially planned as a spin-off for Steele's Degrassi character Manny Santos. "There was so much potential with these story lines and that concept that it grew into something else," Steele explains. So if you're a fan of the cult series that doesn't shy away from hot — and often controversial — topics like transgendered teens, drugs and abortion, well, L.A. Complex takes that all up a notch.

No. 2: A sympathetic bad girl
Every soap has a villain, but it's easy to tell that has-been Raquel (Firefly's Jewel Staite) masks her insecurity with abrasive cattiness. Plus: Watching her beg to audition for a role only to learn that producers have made the character another race is priceless. (She's also attends AA meetings to "network.")

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No. 3: Sex on a roof
Steele says "there's lots of sex in it" — and that's not an understatement. In the first episode, Abby hooks up with hottie Aussie Connor (Jonathan Patrick Moore) on the rooftop and the two wake up to learn that they didn't use protection. But Connor, being the ultimate gentleman, buys her breakfast and the morning-after pill!

No. 4: The Complex residents will do anything for fame and fortune
Abby, who finally books a role as "girl in a body bag," needs cash, so she tags along with Alicia (Chelan Simmons), a dancer by day, stripper by night, to her second job. Abby may not last long on the pole, but Alicia is tempted to gain notoriety when a sex tape offer comes her way.

No. 5: A relationship you won't see coming
We promise you will not predict a romantic relationship that one of the main characters has. But as odd of a pairing it might seem, and as shocking it might come across, you'll definitely be rooting for these lovebirds.  

The L.A. Complex premieres Tuesday at 9/8c on The CW. Will you watch?