Picture from IMDb.
A TV show about a teen girl who hosts her own DIY show on Public-Access TV. She's always ably assisted by her three friends, Asian Airhead (and Rich Bitch) Miracle, friendly neighbourhood brat Amy and best friend Benjamin (who stays behind the camera).
Every episode features the foursome dealing with some problem, be it to do with fashion or just a nifty way to get your goals in order. Eventually, Cake will come up with a solution (always involving arts and crafts), which she will outline on her show. This is played to the viewer, with the final scene telling us how useful the solution is.
This series provides examples of:
- Asian Airhead: Miracle. Actress Anna Maria Perez de Tagle would eventually get stuck with the role in her later roles.
- Catchphrase: "It's PARTYTIME!" and "Like?" "LOVE!" The phrases are entirely confined to the Show Within a Show.
- Fun with Acronyms: Permission Always Required. Take Your Time. Imagination Means Everything. An extremely (possibly) coincidental example with the four cast members of the show: Christa B. Allen, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Keegan McFadden, and Emily Everhard.
- Minimalist Cast: The only time anyone besides the four main actors appear is in the episode "Or-Dis-Ganized," which features Cake's mother and Grandma Crystal - in a photograph. Given Crystal is touted as being Cake's inspiration in every episode, you'd think they'd have bothered to give her speaking parts, at least in the episode "A Cake Walk" which is centered around her undergoing hip surgery and Cake's emotional reaction to the situation.
- Show, Don't Tell: The entire series takes place on only three sets, specifically Cake's backyard, garage, and Grandma Crystal's trailer. This combined with the absence on-screen of any secondary characters makes it virtually impossible to determine the validity of anything stated to have happened elsewhere. This includes major plot points such as Grandma Crystal having worked with a fictional 60s rock band, Cake's mother being a reporter on a TV show, the existence of anyone's other friends (Benjamin is even stated to have a Swedish transfer student as his girlfriend) and even the broadcast status of Cake TV itself! (For all the audience knows, the community access station supposedly airing the show was never even spoken to; a possibility made all the more plausible when you realize that nobody representing the station ever appears on set, nor were they given any professional equipment.[Benjamin films every episode using a standard home camcorder] Though nowadays you could argue the show is on YouTube or TikTok).
