The TV Zone

MTV's set an airdate for its own "High School Musical" wannabe - "The American Mall:" August 11.

It's big, big, big...or maybe anti-climatic, anti-climatic, anti-climatic... After all, Kenny Ortega - the star behind the screen who made "HSM" the phenomenon that it is - is not attached, but Barry Rosenbush and a few other "HSM" producers are. (Nina Dobrev - Mia, of "Degrassi: The Next Generation" is the headliner here.)

And so is Autumn Reeser - that's right, fans, none other than Taylor Townsend from "The O.C."

What is this potential blockbuster about? Here's the description:

"Set in the kind of mall that's always been a home away from home for teens everywhere, 'The American Mall' is the story of Ally, a hardworking young woman whose mother has owned a music shop that's been the soul of the mall ever since it opened when Ally was a kid. Ally's singer/songwriter dreams seem to come closer to fruition when she meets Joey [Rob Mayes], a musician who's moonlighting as a janitor at the mall in order to support his own rock star ambitions. While Joey understands her songs (and heart) like no one else, Ally's happiness and the fate of the music store are threatened when the mall owner's spoiled daughter Madison [Reeser] – who will stop at nothing to get what she wants – becomes involved."

[Mom and pop music store in MALL?! A mall with "soul?!" A mall owner with a "daughter?!" I shall withhold further comment...]

(Above, AR as TT from the show we all desperately miss, "The O.C.")