"I'll explain this in a second for those who don't know me"
Hey folks!! Yes I took a week off and it must've been hard to the nonexistant folks who wait with bated breath for my next blogpost but I'm back in the saddle with a whole new issue to talk about. This time it is close to my heart...The wonderful world of the internet and "New Media."
Now I was raised in the 1990's, home to big hair, bad catchphrases and something that has become so few and far inbetween these days, Black TV shows and Movies. There was an abundance of them: Martin, Living Single, Cosby Show, In Living Color, City Of Angels, Family Matters, Soul Food(TV and Movie) and so many more it its literally too many to name on this blog. But somewhere between 2000 and present day, African American content on both the big and the small screen has been whittled down to almost nothing that doesn't include the words "Tyler Perry's" behind the title. Now as much as I'd love to go in on Tyler Perry, that is a subject for another blog entirely.
It has become very clear that TV has become a bit whitewashed lately. 15 short years ago, every channel on network television had at least 1-3 black shows on their primetime schedule. Now you're lucky if you can find 5 black regulars on the network period. And while things have slowly gotten better (Taraji Henson on Person Of Interest and Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope on Scandal) gone are the days of the predominantly black series on network TV. Now as a black actor and writer myself who was raised with your Fresh Prince's and Living Single's, you would think that I would've given up on my dreams of a lead role on a 10/9pm central drama that doesn't involve me in handcuffs or in a body bag with a Durag (with the flap out, mind you) on my head, but I have found the future...and it can be shared through Twitter and Facebook.
If you were to ask young Black twentysomethings (especially the ones I know) what shows they watch, you might get a shock when they say shows like The Unwritten Rules, Orange is the New Black, RoomieLoverFriends, and The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. You'd be surprised at how many know a Poussey or a Taystee, have been in the same situation as Jayson and Tamiko or had to share an office with the kinda fools that Racey has. The future of the black sitcom and drama series has found new life: on the Internet. With more and more of our demographic leaving their sets behind and catching up on their favorite shows on their smartphones, laptops, and tablets, a new world has opened up for people who go against the grain of the mainstream. Folks like Black and Sexy TV, Issa Rae, Tracy Edmonds' Alright TV and the dudes at Dormtainment (seriously #GetThemBoysAShow) are carving a new niche out for themselves and are taking the traditional industry by storm. There are many ups and downs to saying "Screw TV for right now, I'm working on my YouTube channel." I should know, I am one of these folks.
(l to r) Ian Lawrence, Canae White, Me in the blue, and
Christopher Robinson holding the gun
It was 2010 and I was trying to find a way to make myself useful after graduating from Dillard University. What came about was headaches, heartaches, and a whole HELL of a lot of drama that was the first webseries I had ever created, a soap opera styled drama called Windsor Hill. It was basically about my time in college, but the stories were as twisted as a pretzel handmade by Stevie Wonder. It had drama, it had a predominantly black cast, it was everything that I wanted to see and it was NOWHERE NEAR EASY and it still didn't come out like I wanted it to.
Like most webseries, I had NO BUDGET. Borrowing equipment from my job/alma mater, paying for most stuff with my own money and being actor, director, producer, editor, promoter and anything else that nobody else couldn't/Didn't want to do. I was the one who wrote the episodes, distributed them, scheduled the shoots, and chased behind the actors to make sure they showed up. No one was a star. Hell, no one got paid. We did it because we wanted to see our work put together and shown to the world. And I was blessed to realize that I wasn't really alone, because most web series have the same issues. Many go to Kickstarter and GoFundMe, some work side gigs like I did, but cash(unless you are filthy rich) will never be the true motivator in the web series game, at least not at first. But if you keep at it and you are noticed, you could go far.
The Dormtainment Crew. Chaz, Mike, Cam,
Rome, Amanuel, and Tay. (Not pictured, Tay's Juice)
Take In Living Color, throw it in a pot with Chappelle's Show, add a dash of 106 & Park and stir and you've got the fellas at Dormtainment. Meeting each other while going to school in Atlanta, Tay, Rome, Mike, Amanuel and brothers Chaz and Cam have put together some of the funniest vids on the internet. With wild characters like the Jamacian Leaning Leon, the Boot fearing Americans, Cam's silent but increasingly hostile Smiley, and Tay's odd taste for large quantities of pancakes and juice, they had gained a fanbase. The fan base grew when they released their mixtapes: We're Not Rappers, But We Rap and Broke And Famous(Both Produced by Tay.) They now frequently tour college campuses, and have begun working with Tracey Edmonds' faith oriented Youtube Channel Alright TV, while still putting out new skits every Sunday.
Issa Rae, Creator and Star of "The Misadventures
Of Awkward Black Girl"
Issa Rae, known to many as J rose to fame on her web comedy "Awkward Black Girl." She shortly after that blew the hell up, producing her other projects like RoomieLoverFriends, How Men Become Dogs and the hilarous Ratchetpiece Theatre. She is currently developing a series with Scandal and Grey's creator and TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes and just inked a deal to work with Daily Show writer Larry Wilmore to create an HBO series. She has been featured in magazines, talk shows and is widely known as the example of how far a web series can take you.
They're is a myriad of series out there for everyone be it comedy, drama, action, etc. Recently YouTuber Tactix will be releasing his action series BOOST in the very near future. I myself is working on a supernatural series and have just finished a short film called Man's Best Friend which is available through the YouTube channel GumboMonster. It reminds me of the 90s all over again. Folks unafraid to show a side of life that the mainstream tend to ignore. To the people out there, keep writing, directing, and performing out there. You never know where it'll take you.
Thanx 4 Lettin me Vent,
Lawrence J. Weber, Jr
"The Arrogant Observer"
P.S. Here are some of the Links to enjoy some of the series that I was talking about:
Check out my new movie, Man's Best Friend, here:
And subscribe to our channel, GumboMonster:
Dormtainment:
Issa Rae Productions
Black and Sexy TV
Inkspot Entertainment(Home to The Unwritten Rules)
KEEP CREATING!!!
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