The Latest Buzz

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Latest Buzz (2007-2010) is a live-action sitcom about five teenagers who become writers of a failing magazine called Buzz. It is produced by and originally aired on the Canadian network Family.

The new staff are compromised of: Rebecca, a happy go lucky, sugary sweet Team Mom who gets on the other characters (not to mention the audience's nerves); Michael, a flamboyant, fashion obsessed Camp Straight, Noah, the practical joker who has a crush on Rebecca, Amanda, Michael's best friend; a selfish, Spoiled Sweet rich girl who often clashes with Rebecca, and Wilder, an easy going cloudcuckoolander and Amanda's long term love interest. Being a canadian teen sitcom that airs on the family network, there are no great surprises here; but there's some excellent UST between the two main couples, as well as Michael's Ambiguously Gay antics. It was recently[when?] released on DVD after ending in April 2010.


Tropes used in The Latest Buzz include:
  • Air Guitar: One episode has Wilder and his father entering an air guitar championship.
  • 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 DJ. Even Naive 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".
  • Ambiguously Gay: Michael being a kid's show, they can't actually state that he is gay but he is 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.
  • Attention Whore: Michael.
  • 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.
  • The Bro Code: Wilder talks about this when Michael dates Amanda calling it one of the 'guy rules,' specifically the rule 'pals before gals.'
  • 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.
  • Catch Phrase: Wilder's "Awestruck."
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Wilder.
  • Daddy's Girl: Amanda, who can sometimes come off as a Spoiled Brat as a result.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": 'Daddy's assistant', 'Boss Man'
  • Satiating Sandwich: Wilder is obsessed with creating the perfect sandwich.
  • Extroverted Nerd: Cody Herman (who calls himself "the Her Man").
  • 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 never made it on screen.
    • Also D.J.'s mother, who was often on the phone hassling D.J. about her (non-existant) lovelife.
  • Ho Yay:
    • Wilder and Noah, they even have more than one 'break up' episode.
    • Noah and Rebecca's dad also have this in one episode, complete with over the top break up.
  • 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.
  • Naive Everygirl: Rebecca.
  • Making Use of the Twin: One episode involves Amanda going out with a prince who looks exactly like Wilder, played by Munro Chamber's twin brother
  • Missing Episode/What Could Have Been: The original pilot, which had older characters (including a whopping three cast members from Naturally, Sadie), a slightly darker, more dramatic tone, and no Wilder. See part 1 and part 2. Worth noting: If this had gone through, Shenae Grimes would not have gone on to Degrassi the Next Generation and then 90210.
  • "Mission Impossible" Cable Drop: Michael uses it to retrieve a column from DJ'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, the arrange a private ceremony on the roof of the building and trick D.J. and Shepherd into turning up under false pretenses. They realise they really do love each other and go through with the ceremony.
  • Repetitive Name: Wilder Wilder.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Surfer Dude: Wilder is more of a skateboarder, but his speech is, like, totally Surfer Dude.
  • 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.