Big Time Rush (Nickelodeon)

In BIG TIME RUSH, four teenage friends leave the snowy Midwest to follow their dream of becoming successful recording artists. After music executive Gustavo Rocque (Stephen Kramer Glickman) discovers Kendall (Kendall Schmidt) at an open casting call for a new band, he and his longtime pals James (James Maslow), Logan (Logan Henderson), and Carlos (Carlos Pena) head to Los Angeles with Kendall’s mom (Challen Cates) and little sister (Ciara Bravo) in the hopes that they’ve got what it takes to become the hot new band. But once there, they discover that it will take more than big dreams and flashy smiles to break through the competition.

At a time when reality series like American Idol promise to turn average Joes into overnight stars, the idea of a series based on the aftermath of a person’s “discovery” is an enticing one -- even if it is fictitious. The show offers a lighthearted glimpse at the conflicting forces that exist between the guys’ dreams of starting a career and their efforts to make the most of their fleeting teenage years.

Big Time Rush certainly doesn’t try to incorporate much reality into its storylines, but for most tweens, separating this type of content from anything that might relate to their own lives is a no-brainer, so there’s little concern in allowing them to tune in.