UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Jesse McCartney is indisputably a teen idol. He's 17, blond, good-looking, a best-selling recording artist and a star of "Summerland," which returns to the WB Monday at 8 p.m. on Ch. 30.

And his character on the show, Brandin, has developed quite a following among teen and preteen girls. Which is sort of interesting because Brandin is hardly a role model for young viewers.

"Through the character, I've been able to see what it's like for real kids out there who don't have any parents and what they go through and some of the things that they do," McCartney said. "Unfortunately, for my character, it's been the drugs and the alcohol and the promiscuous sex."

Not exactly the kind of behavior you want your kids to emulate. But executive producer Remi Aubuchon credits viewers with knowing that.

"I got a lot of feedback from a lot of a younger viewers that felt as if we weren't trying to give them a lecture and we weren't trying to make everything cool," he said "We were pretty much staying in a real pattern, and we're trying to keep that hallmark, especially with Jesse's character."

And he promised that we will see "consequences" that arise from Brandin's choices.

"Summerland" is a family show about a decidedly non-traditional family. The jumping-off point was the death of Brandin's parents, leaving him, 13-year-old Niki (Kay Panabaker) and 9-year-old Derrick (Nick Benson) in the custody of their aunt, Ava (Lori Loughlin) — a thirtysomething free spirit of sorts who's never been tied down with responsibilities. The three kids leave their rural, Midwestern home and move into a California beach house with their aunt and her friends, who serve as surrogate parents.

And who don't always do such a great job of parenting.

"Playing the role of Ava . . . validated for me that as a parent, you don't always have the answers," Loughlin said. "I don't always have the answers in real life with my kids, and I don't have the answers on the show. And I think that's truthful. You follow your heart, and you do the best that you can in raising kids."

In Monday's second-season premiere, Ava causes mixed emotions among the kids when she launches into plans to marry Simon. Derrick is excited; Ava is upset — and Brandin is considering performance-enhancing drugs to boost his performance on the surf team.

"Now that he's trying to find out who he is, there's a lot of places we can go with that, Aubichon said. "And so some of the things we want to touch on are somewhat standard story ideas but with a 'Summerland' twist. What happens when a kid feels like he's just not pushing that envelope hard enough in trying to pursue something? Does he look for an edge, and what is that edge? So does that actually push him toward drugs, and what are the consequences of that happening?"

Consequences for both Brandin and the rest of his family.

"The bottom line is this show is about what is it like to be a family and what do you do for each other and how do you go the distance for each other, whether you're the quote-unquote 'traditional family' or you're the fragmented family that we are," Loughlin said.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com