In a review of the CW’s new show Privileged which premiered last night, USA Today’s entertainment critic Robert Bianco says the network is turning whiter and richer with every premiere. Sounds like Manhattan real estate. But sears, we were actually ruminating upon this very thought last night as we happily watched our first two DVR’d episodes of this season’s Gossip Girl. As promos for the new 90210 (now with a black!) and Privileged rolled by, we called to mind an article we saw a few weeks ago that said in troubled times, people want to fantasize about the rich and famous. And, it’s true, we were sort of caught up in Chuck Bass’ dreamy lines. That doesn’t mean we want all our shows like that, though. Why is it that network suits always try to recreate a hit instead of experimenting with something new? Of course, it bears mentioning that the star of Privileged, Reba’s JoAnna Garcia, is actually a Latina herself, albeit a white Cuban-American.

But that’s not what passes for diversity in mainstream America. That would require admitting that not all Latinos are short, dark, brown and poor. Instead Ms. Garcia plays a “white” character named Megan Smith. And we await some semblance of reality on television.

‘Privileged’: The kids are all white, and kind of shallow, too [USA Today]