by Wendy Allmon

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: February 13, 2009

True Jackson, VP is a Nickelodeon television series aimed at teenagers and preteens. The show airs on Saturdays at 7:30pm Central time. The series premiered on November 8, 2008 with a catchy theme song written by Keke Palmer and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Toby Gad and performed by Keke Palmer. The series stars Keke Palmer as title character True Jackson. True gets a job as Vice President of the Youth Apparel department of a fashion company called Mad Style. Though the likelihood of this ever happening in the real world is slim, it makes for an entertaining fantasy that many young girls appreciate.

Ashley Argota plays Lulu, True's easily distracted and sometimes flaky best friend and later her assistant. Matt Shively plays Ryan, another of True's good friends, and sometimes third wheel. Danielle Bisutti plays Amanda, the vice president of another department who is the antagonist of the show. She often works to get True fired, so she can once again be the top dog at MadStyle. It is easier to pity Amanda than hate her, as it is obvious her meanness stems from insecurities and pains of her own. Once True realizes Amanda is no different than the girls in her high school, she realizes working in the adult world and being grown up is not as difficult or as different as she thought. The first 20 episodes of the series have True and her friends facing one problem after another, whether it is lost dresses or overly spoiled teen super models.

The pilot episode features fifteen year-old True Jackson selling sandwiches with her friend Ryan in the fashion district when she is complimented by fashion designer, Max (Greg Proops). Max realizes the clothes True is wearing are his designs, but True had altered them to suit her own purposes. After asking True why she had done this, Max is impressed by the altered design, and hires True to be Vice President of Youth Apparel. Though Max is often frustrated with his employees, and tends to fire them over the littlest thing, he is enamored of True and sees her potential. True is determined to do the best job possible, with friends Lulu's and Ryan's help, despite obstacles and Amanda's objection to working with a child. Ron Butler plays Oscar, the receptionist at MadStyle, who True has on her side. A potential love interest is found in Max's nephew Jimmy Madigan, played for Robbie Amell. The pilot garnered 6.8 million viewers on its first airing and set network records among kids 6-11 and adolescents 9-14.

True Jackson, VP is highly entertaining for young girls, and mildly entertaining for adults as well. The problems True faces at MadStyle can be easily translated to ones that affect young girls in real life, and True handles them in a way that is positive for young viewers. The program is teen orientated, but not to the point where it becomes unappealing to adults. If you are between 8 and 16, you don't want to miss this half hour program, and it just may inspire you to reach for your dream as well, whether it be in the fashion industry or something equally as exciting.

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