Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty, ‘Everyone Is Doing Great‘ journeys alongside four characters who are bonded by their past in the television industry. Seth, Jeremy, and Andrea, in particular, are famous worldwide for the breakout vampire show ‘Eternal.’ However, in the five years since then, their lives seem to have taken vastly different trajectories. While Andrea remains a successful actor and the face of a long-running cop show, Seth struggles to land his auditions and has to resort to odd acting jobs to make his living. Things turn out to be even worse for Jeremy, whose fear of returning to the screen or stage ends up manifesting in an alcohol addiction. Meanwhile, Isabella, their friend from outside the show, struggles to find her footing as a director.
Throughout this comedy-drama series, ‘Eternal’ seems to loom in the background like a haunting figure, reminding Seth and Jeremy of a legacy they are hardly able to keep up with. As we learn more about this mysterious teen phenomenon that still brings in huge fan communities, the distinction between our characters’ personas and real lives becomes ever so apparent.
Eternal is Reminiscent of The Vampire Diaries, But Retains its Own Creative Voice
Though ‘Eternal’ is a fictional show created by Stephen Colletti, James Lafferty, and their writing team specifically for ‘Everyone Is Doing Great,’ it does find some strong parallels in the real-life niche of vampire-themed teen shows. In particular, Lafferty described ‘Eternal’ as “a The Vampire Diaries type show (…) that was this massive smash hit,” in a conversation with Tell-Tale TV. A closer look does reveal some vague parallels between the fictional series and what appears to be its real-life antecedent, in that they are both popular vampire shows featuring two boys and one girl in the lead roles. Additionally, Seth, Jeremy, and Andrea’s roles in the show seem to be a reference to the characters of Damon, Stefan, and Elena from ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ respectively.
However, the genre and character archetypes are most likely where the overlaps end, as we never get a more detailed look into the world of ‘Eternal.’ While the creators may have used ‘The Vampire Diaries’ as a reference for the general aesthetic, much of what we learn about the show is crafted from scratch by the creative team. In doing so, the show also nods to the prominent fandom communities that exist for classic titles. The show shines a light on community events, fandom reunions, and the merchandise industry, all of which go a long way in making ‘Eternal’ feel extremely real on screen.
Eternal is Informed by Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty’s Past Experiences as Actors
Much of ‘Everyone Is Doing Great’ concerns itself with the era after ‘Eternal,’ more specifically, five years down the line, when the actors are no longer at the height of their popularity. In that respect, the series takes loose inspiration from Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty’s personal experience with processing their exit from ‘One Tree Hill,’ a classic teen drama show that ran for 9 seasons. Colletti and Lafferty play Chase Adams and Nathan Scott, respectively, and following the series finale, the actors were met with many new and unexpected challenges in their acting journeys, all of which informed their ideas regarding ‘Eternal.’
During his interview with Tell-Tale TV, Lafferty recounted a point in his career where fans were reaching out to remind him that it had been five years since the end of ‘One Tree Hill.’ That seems to have been a primary inspiration for the premise of ‘Everyone Is Doing Great,’ as it also takes place exactly five years after the end of ‘Eternal.’ “we both thought that there’s probably some humor to be found in a couple of guys who didn’t do anything at all to set themselves up for the next phase of their lives after something like a big hit teen show,” Lafferty added, maintaining that the story is moreso an inverse of how he and Colletti have developed as artists since the ending of ‘One Tree Hill,’ which in this case loosely occupies the same space as ‘Eternal.’
While both Lafferty and Colletti are successful writers, producers, and directors, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they had a smooth start after ‘One Tree Hill’ wrapped up. In a conversation with People, Lafferty recalled, “I think Jeremy (from ‘Everyone Is Doing Great’) speaks to that part of myself coming out of One Tree Hill who recognized pretty quickly that it was going to be harder than I thought it would be.” The actor further elaborated on how he was always prepared to do a lot more work and eventually create his own projects, but the process of auditioning for a role after so many years came as a shock. In translating these experiences into fictional story beats for Jeremy and Seth, the creators likely came up with ‘Eternal’ as a superficial stand-in for ‘One Tree Hill,’ where the genre is completely flipped to maintain a degree of fictionality.
Read More: Everyone Is Doing Great Season 3: Will it Happen?
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