As far as definitions go, Web series are shows aired exclusively online and they are increasingly gaining popularity in the entertainment industry. Some come from established networks and some from independent filmmakers. If I had to choose between Web series with polish or rough edges, I prefer the rough edges. I just think they’re far more original and provocative. But in the end, I feel that both aim to entertain and they do.
I feel that independent Web series have a more raw sense of humor, targeted for more narrow groups of audiences. But they still need some work, and that’s part of the allure. It’s just as matter of pushing the limits. “Diy independents” can take more liberties with the material and they take advantage of that. Black and White’s production of “Oh, Inverted World” certainly does, with its interesting direction style with black and white picture, unknown actors and an off kilter plot. It’s a fantasy series about recent college graduates who come back to their hometown and discover the moon may be collidingwith the Earth. Oh, and there are zombies too.
I don’t necessarily like all of the material independent filmmakers produce, and didn’t in this case, but enjoy the idea that they are willing to cross some boundaries of popular film and television. The casts and crews are nearly always avant-garde artists that create fresh storylines and use different aesthetics, like they did here. Similarly, one of my favorite Web series is “We Need Girlfriends.” It’s about recent college graduates, all guys, who find themselves single for the first time. It’s fresh and sarcastic in a way polished shows aren’t. Such diy independents tend to produce the content I feel is actually fit for the motto “It’s not TV, it’s ____.”
The Web series supported by prominent channels, on the other hand, may be fun to watch but sound just too scripted, tailored for electronic applause sequences at just the right places. They have actors with fan bases that mean there will always be a following and a crew that perfect the scenes fit for commercial break—fit for revenue. Independents tend not to think that way. However, these writers know their stuff and know just what makes people laugh, cry, or yell in surprise, and we respond in kind. I tune in to Lifetime and other networks for the dramas and comedies that I know will always treat me the way I expect to for that given weekday or weekend, daytime, primetime, anytime and all the time.
Likewise, Lifetime Suite 7’s production, “For Richer or Poorer,” didn’t disappoint. About a pair of newlyweds who have their first big fight about money troubles—after just arriving to the honeymoon suite, it makes you laugh, even just a little bit. Queen Esquijarosa said, “I thought it was funny but I wish it was longer.”
In general, I much prefer the independent genre. I like being moved on a profound level or laugh at dry, unrehearsed humor, not just be entertained for a single evening. That’s where the sponsored series lose me. But it doesn’t matter, if the point is just to raise a rating, they’ll get it anyway.
