NEW YORK — Netflix is trading Regency London for the gated, sun-drenched hills of Southern California. During its annual Upfronts presentation in New York City, the streaming giant announced a formal series order for Calabasas, a highly anticipated young adult romance drama.
The project marks a major creative reunion, serving as the first official series greenlit under a brand-new, exclusive multi-year scripted partnership between Netflix and Emmy-nominated writer-producer Chris Van Dusen, the mastermind behind the platform’s global phenomenon Bridgerton.
Van Dusen will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. He is flanked by a powerhouse celebrity producing team that includes reality icon Kim Kardashian and actress Emma Roberts (American Horror Story: Delicate), alongside Alexandra Milchan and Martin Salgo of Crescent Line Productions, and Karah Preiss and Matt Matruski of Belletrist.
From Regency Elegance to Elite Teen Rebellion
The series is heavily inspired by Via Bleidner’s memoir, If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous by Now: True Stories from Calabasas. While the project was initially acquired by Netflix following a fierce multi-studio bidding war in 2024, the newly updated logline hints at a glamorous, high-stakes teen drama in the vein of classics like The O.C. and Gossip Girl:
”At an elite private school in the country’s most exclusive town, the headmaster’s ambitious daughter is destined to have it all – until she’s swept into a forbidden romance with the one boy determined to burn down her glittering world instead of play by its rules. In Calabasas, where desires are never as clean as appearances suggest, falling in love might be the most dangerous rebellion of all.”
For Van Dusen, the series represents a nostalgic homecoming to the television formats that shaped his career.
”Calabasas is the kind of series I’ve always dreamed of making,” Van Dusen said in a statement. “It’s the kind of glamorous, bold, addictive, and emotionally-charged show I grew up obsessed with. The great teen dramas of that era proved TV could be escapist, provocative, and deeply personal all at once.” He added a playful nod to the luxury enclave’s culture: “And more obviously, I’ll take all the free or heavily-discounted smoothies from Erewhon I can get. That part, too.”
The Powerhouse Production Coalition
The announcement cements a formidable alliance of Hollywood tastemakers. Jinny Howe, Netflix’s Head of Scripted Series for the US and Canada, expressed immense enthusiasm for the creative lineup:
”It’s exciting to reunite with Chris Van Dusen and bring his distinct voice to Calabasas, alongside the powerhouse team of Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts, and Alexandra Milchan. Full of romance and complicated relationships, this coming-of-age story is as emotionally sharp as it is grounded in the complex reality of finding your authentic self.”
The executive attachment of Kim Kardashian is particularly fitting, given her familial history with the titular town, which transitioned from a quiet Los Angeles suburb to a global object of pop-culture fascination in the 2010s largely due to her family’s footprint.
Part of a Multi-Project California Push
Netflix has notably kept mum regarding specific casting decisions or a locked-in production timeline for the scripted series. However, Calabasas arrives as part of a highly coordinated, dual-track content strategy focused on the wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood.
The teen drama is actually the second upcoming project on Netflix’s slate set within the gated enclave. The streamer is also preparing for the immediate, May 29, 2026 premiere of Calabasas Confidential, an unscripted reality series tracking a group of affluent friends and exes returning to their parents’ multi-million dollar hillside mansions after graduating college.
With both a premium scripted drama and an unscripted reality series targeting the same wealthy California backdrop, Netflix is positioning Calabasas as its next dominant geography for pop-culture storytelling.
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