The strength of any reality TV show is always the cast; they need to be likeable, otherwise no one will watch, yet they can't be too likeable or they'll get along and there's no show. College Hill: Interns assembles the same predictable cast seen in nearly every other reality show, especially those that cram a group of people into the same house. Each cast member fits a predictable role, many of which date back to movies like The Breakfast Club. There's the jock, the aspiring model, the hook-up artist, the virgin, the bully and the requisite gay character. Both a Cast Audition Reel and Reject Reel are included as special features and offer a little bit of insight into the selection of cast members.
However, the problem isn't that these characters fit certain stereotypes, but rather that there isn't much "growth" in the characters beyond their assigned stereotypes. Too much of the show is focused on the cast member's extracurricular exploits rather than the whole "intern" thing, which is supposed to be the show's centerpiece. The internship aspect of the show is boiled down into a series of Apprentice-like challenges between the two teams. The initial challenges are simple team-building exercises that never really go anywhere and are really just a mechanic to kick cast members off the show and give host Ian Smith an opportunity to spout the show's tag-line, "Your internship has ended." The challenges that seem to involve any real "work" don't pop up until the end and feel like they were just crammed in.
Another of the two-disc sets extra features is "A Day with Soulja Boy", where a cast member follows Soulja Boy around for the day as a personal assistant. Like most of the show, it opens up a potentially interesting avenue that eventually degenerates into something else entirely.
Overall, College Hill: Interns is an unfocused show that lacks an identity. The core concept opens up the opportunity for something radically different from other reality shows, but instead it bypasses these in favor of the same overdone, cheap antics that every other show does. That's not to say it isn't watchable, since I can see the show having an audience. At the same time, by aiming for that particular audience, it gives up a golden opportunity to create something much bigger.
