Tag Archives: Lesbian Web Series

The ‘Carmilla’ Movie Trailer Is Out

The web series Carmilla has attracted millions of fans around the world over the last few years. So it’s only right that the show should be made into a feature film.

Inspired by the infamous novella by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla is all about a girl called Laura (Elise Bauman), who has left her home town for the first time to attend Silas University, which boasts its own Gnostic Mathematics department, many clubs for the students to enjoy like the Alchemy Club, and an extensive library where the books will search for you.

It’s kind of like a queer-er Buffy, blended with Scooby-Doo, and little bit Veronica Mars style action.

The new movie will feature the stars of the web series, Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis, who return for the supernatural spinoff film.

Watch the trailer below:

How to Start Your Own Lesbian Web Series

Why start a series?

The importance: Representation is important, and the best way to get LGBT women on the screen is to put them there ourselves – we are the only ones who can tell our stories.

The friends: Starting a web series requires a lot of collaboration, from writers to editors to actors, so you’ll meet a lot of amazing people. Even if you never achieve fame, you’ll start countless friendships.

The fun: Plus, if you’re an artist, making LGBT art with other people is just plain fun. You’ll get to dream up crazy storylines. You’ll get to map out crazy promotions. You can direct or act in order to create an imaginary world. And your stories may touch people in ways you never anticipated.


What story should you tell?

You have 1,001 stories to choose from. You could tell the story of a lesbian space detective. You could narrate a polyamorous love story. You could design a cartoon about polysexual space aliens. The options are endless.

But what show do you wish you could watch, right now? That’s the show that you need to make. Don’t write what you think will be popular, write what you want to watch, because if you want to watch it, others will too.


How should you tell your story?

Every story needs to be told differently. For example, we all know some books that should not have been turned into movies, and we know some TV shows that fell flat when they became films. (Maybe people should stop turning things into movies…) Grab a piece of paper and brainstorm the best way to tell your story.

Gone are the days when YouTube videos were your only option. Now you can make tiny vines, minute-long Instagram videos, thirty minute Vimeo epics, or avant-garde Snapchat videos. You can shoot on your iPhone or on an expensive professional camera.

Utilize your network. If a friend of a friend is an experienced director, then you have more options. If all of your friends take improv classes, then you’ll be able to tell dynamic stories. Don’t be afraid to tell your story in a creative, unorthodox way.


Who’s your writing team?

Sure, you could write by yourself. But that didn’t work for Season Two of True Detective, and it might not work for you. Besides, a writing partner can challenge you, come at the story from a fresh angle, and spin jokes and subplots.

You may be awake tweaking lines until 3 a.m. the night before a shoot. It will be more fun to have a writing buddy struggling with you.


How will you fund it?

Unless you’re shooting Vines with an iPhone, filming a web series will be expensive, so do whatever it takes to find the funds. Enter contests, start a GoFundMe, max out your credit card, secure a private investor, or get a sugar mama. Just remember that your show probably won’t get picked up by a major network and you almost definitely won’t make your money back. The chances of being Issa Rae (Awkward Black Girl) or Ilana Glazer (Broad City) are slim.


Who’s your crew?

Your crew could be you with a camera on selfie mode, or it could be ten people and craft service. If you want your series to be shot professionally, you’ll need actors, make-up artists, a lighting crew, a sound crew, a camera crew, a director, an editor… Start making phone calls.


Practice makes perfect!

Don’t be discouraged if your series doesn’t turn out the way you want it right away, or if the view count is low. Just keep writing, filming, acting and promoting, and your audience will come! There’s nothing more rewarding than telling your stories to people who need to hear them.

‘Carmilla’ Season 3 Trailer Is Worth The Watch

Carmilla – the wildly popular Canadian vampire web series – is kind of like a queer-er Buffy, blended with Scooby-Doo, and little bit Veronica Mars style action.

It has attracted millions of fans around the world, and not just because of strong story, but it has a whole lot of queerness too.

And now it’s back for its third and final season this September 15th.

Carmilla (inspired by the infamous novella by J. Sheridan Le Fanu) is all about a girl called Laura (Elise Bauman), who has left her home town for the first time to attend Silas University, which boasts its own Gnostic Mathematics department, many clubs for the students to enjoy like the Alchemy Club, and an extensive library where the books will search for you.

But then things get weird when Laura’s roommate disappears without a trace one night, which no-one seems to notice or care about.

Laura decides to investigate herself, and with help from her dorm managers Perry and LaFontaine, and Danny the friendly TA, uncovers a similar string of disappearances and a seedy underbelly of danger lurking underneath Silas.Meanwhile, her new roommate Carmilla keeps stealing her chocolate! Oh, and she might be a vampire targeting Laura as her next victim.

Hit Australian Lesbian Series ‘Starting From Now’ Final Season Starts Now

The first episode of the fifth and final season of acclaimed Aussie lesbian web series Starting From Now is now available to watch for free at KitschMix.TV.

The independently-produced show began it’s journey in 2014, and achieved viral success for its authentic portrayal of four inner-city Australian lesbians as they struggle to work out who they are, find a place where they belong, and search for love along the way. Addictive back-to-back watching at it’s best.

600dd_574637

The show is the brainchild of multi-award winning writer/director Julie Kalceff, and has amassed 25 million views from more than 225 countries across the world – which is amazing considering it was created by the support of crowd funding. And on the back of the success of the first three seasons, Seasons 4 and 5 were acquired for by SBS to be broadcast Australian TV.

However, the previous four series of the show are available for you to binge-watch to your heart’s content her at KitschMix.TV.

Daily Juice: God Plays Matchmaker In UnReal’s Lesbian Web Spinoff, And Tegan & Sara Announce Tour Dates

UnREAL’s has a new web spinoff out, The Faith Diaries, which features a lesbian, God and love.

Tegan and Sara have announced their up-coming tour dates today for our North American, as well as headline dates in Australia, UK and Asia! Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 29th via the band’s website, and the duo will donate one dollar from each North American ticket sale to charitable organizations via Plus One.

Marine Simpson has celebrated coming out as bisexual with a night out with her rumoured girlfriend, Natalie Philips.

nat_2812159a

To me, that was different because it was just me and her. It wasn’t for any other reason than I wanted to, so it made me think differently. I’m still a bit hesitant to have a full-blown relationship with a girl, but I do think it would be a possibility.”

Buzzfeed asked some people about what it’s really like to wear a chest binder.

https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedLGBT/videos/844538515673335/

Orange is the New Black’s Lea DeLaria was the keynote speakers aIowa LGBTQ Conference.  She said conferences like this are an example of how far the LGBTQ movement has progressed.

img-Orange-is-New-Black-start-at-Iowa-LGBTQ-Conference

I have seen the world change around who we are. I feel that as a political organization, we finally started to win the hearts and minds of people and organizations like this in Iowa.”

And in a recent interview with Advocate, Uzo Aduba says she gets hit up by a lot of female fans:

Yeah, so many ladies on social media want me to throw my pie for them, or they want to throw a pie for me. They ask to be my Dandelion. I appreciate it. I also get a lot of proposals. Sometimes I’m like, “Hmm, how big is the ring?” It’s all in good fun.”

Showtime Looking To Adapt Ingrid Jungermann’s ‘F To 7th’ Into Comedy Series

According to Deadline, Ingrid Jungermann, whose first feature, Women Who Kill, just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, is heading to television.

Showtime has put in development F To 7th, a half-hour comedy based on Jungermann’s popular web series of the same name.

fto7th

The web series follows a middle-aged lesbian woman named Ingrid, as she attempts to navigate a world where her old-fashioned ideas of lesbianism have been left behind.

F To 7th – which she created and stars in – is 2 seasons long with each season lasting eight episodes. The series featured Amy Sedaris (Strangers With CandyBojack HorsemanUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer, Hello, My Name Is Doris, They Came Together) and Janeane Garofalo (Wet Hot American SummerThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Ben Stiller Show).

fto7th5-600x337

Although she starred in the web series, there has not been any confirmation as to whether or not Jungermann will star in the TV series.

Jungermann will be writing the TV adaptation of her series along with Showalter and writer/director Jamie Babbit (But I’m A CheerleaderMarriedGirls).

As with any web series making the jump to television, it will be interesting to see how similar the Showtime series will be to its web series counterpart.

This news also raises the question of who will play Jungermann’s character if she does not star in the television adaptation.

For anyone who has seen the web series it may be difficult to watch someone else take on the part that Jungermann has inhabited.

 

The 12 Cutest Fictional Queer Female Couples

Admit it: When you see an adorable queer couple in a TV show, you feel a little bit of extra love for that show. Sometimes, we end up watching these shows just for the OTP we see – and it’s because they speak to what we want out of our own relationships. Whether they remind us of the relationships we want or the relationships we’re actually in, these couples really hit the nail on the head.

(Note: There may be spoilers within, so if you haven’t seen the movie or show that the couple is in, be warned.)

Which is your favorite? Do you have more to add? Don’t forget to comment and let us know!


Adele and Emma (Blue is the Warmest Color)

This is one of the biggest lesbian movies to come out in the past few years, and it’s not hard to see why so many people identify with this movie. Not only is it a believable lesbian love story, but it also intertwines the feelings involved with being a young adult – brilliantly portrayed in an artsy way that will send feelings of nostalgia to pretty much anyone. Although the movie has been criticized for the use of artificial vaginas in the sex scenes, what’s more important here – a realistic story, or actual sex? We’d prefer the first, thank you!

tumblr_noz6krrNqs1tvd7dvo1_500


Betty and Helen (Masters of Sex)

betty-y-helen-en-Masters-of-Sex

However you might feel about the whole “marriage of convenience” idea, this movie – like Carol – deals with the difficulties of same-sex relationships in the middle of the last century. At the end, they end up coming out in the open anyway, and you can’t help but say “aww” as their relationship blossoms into something else. (Plus, who hasn’t wanted to see Sarah Silverman as a lesbian?)


Brittany and Santana (Glee)

Brittana-wedding-02

These two opened the door for those who might be afraid to come out because of their social status in school – how often do you hear about lesbian cheerleaders?! (Porn excluded, of course.) These two shared a love that covered a whole range of emotions, and they even helped to bring a non-sexualized view of lesbian relationships to mainstream media – with these two being the most prominent example of a lesbian couple that isn’t just targeted at lesbians. (Although we probably love them just a little more.)


Carol and Therese (Carol)

carol (1)

Personally, I love historical looks at lesbian life, and these two are a great example of what lesbian life looked like in the ‘50s – including all the secrets, all the hiding, and all the complications involved. What’s even more impactful is that there are still so many people who are wrapped up in similar situations, even with the world’s “more liberal” leanings. Everything these two went through was so heartbreaking, not only for the pain they felt, but because it serves as a reminder that we really haven’t made that much progress in the last 60 years.

(*Note – We have made a lot of progress, in general, but there’s still so much more to be done.)


Dana and Alice (The L Word)

tumblr_lkd3mvnzxl1qb1g04o1_500

Maybe it’s just the sexual tension that was building up for so long by the time they actually got together, but Dana and Alice were definitely one of the cutest couples on The L Word. We were rooting for them from the start, and then when they finally became an item, it’s like all our cute little romantic prayers were answered.


Delphine and Cosima (Orphan Black)

Orphan Black LGBT Characters 04

While their relationship might have been a bit weird at first, it’s always nice to know that your partner knows you inside and out – and, truly, these two have a scientific connection that all of us who don’t live in a sci-fi world will probably never understand. More than that, Delphine represents the straight-girl-crush-turned-true-love that we all kinda wish happened more often.


Jules and Nic (The Kids Are All Right)

the-kids-are-all-right

While much of this movie is a bit uncomfortable, the way the movie shows the lesbian moms in this movie is raw, believable, and honest – something that we don’t often see. These two will work their way into your heart and ensure that their relationship isn’t one you’ll soon forget. Even if you hate the rest of the movie (as some people do), Jules and Nic are the older lesbian couple we all secretly wish we knew.


Lena and Stef (The Fosters)

Ah, another set of lesbian moms that we all wish we could be – or have! Lena and Stef have their fair share of problems, but that’s what makes them realistic, and it melts our heart the way they manage to balance their “problem kids” with their love for each other. Their relationship could be strained or full of resentment, but it’s not, and we’re grateful for that.


Luce and Rachel (Imagine Me & You)

Imagine Me & You

It’s hard to not love Piper Perabo or Lena Headey by themselves, so the two in a relationship together? Extra loveable, for sure. Not only is this one of those rare tales where the “bi-curious woman” doesn’t end up going back to her man, but they’re also super adorable together, even right from the start. There’s even a pretty believable almost-sex scene, where the ladies have that awkward first-timer sex that most lesbian films pretend is perfect. Hello, the first time is usually not perfect – so kudos to the director for making this one realistic.


Pauline and Victoria (Lost & Delirious)

tumblr_mt1begEL2f1rl0cdno1_500

Ah, boarding school love – one of the dream fantasies of the lesbian community (and also one of the biggest fantasies of the straight male community, but that’s not what we’re talking about here). These two learned about themselves, and each other, and ripped at our heartstrings as they did it. The movie might seem a little dated now, but it’s considered one of the classics of lesbian cinema. Just try to watch it without crying – I dare you!


Shane and Carmen (The L Word)

tumblr_lhqejulNQL1qhxldwo1_500

However you personally feel about Shane, I can pretty much guarantee that you were royally pissed off when she left Carmen just because her dad told her she’d do it eventually – and “might as well be now” or whatever stupid words he actually used. Carmen brought a sense of balance to Shane, and we were really, really hoping they’d end up together. Shame on you, Shane, for throwing away the best thing to ever happen to you. Shame! (It also doesn’t hurt that Carmen was my #1 favorite character from the entire show, but hey… That’s just how things go sometimes.)


Syd and Ali (Transparent)

TRANSPARENT_203_00207

It’s always a little rough when you are dealing with a character who didn’t come out prior to the start of their same-sex relationship, but season two of Transparent handled it the best way they could – and I, for one, am thankful for that. There might be some who doubt the authenticity of this relationship, but we can’t help but hope that they’ll figure everything out in the end. (Fingers crossed!)


[interaction id=”568fa3a794a522de057902d6″]

Ingrid Jungermann Brings ‘Women Who Kill’ to the Tribeca Film Festival

Brooklyn-based filmmaker Ingrid Jungermann is best known for her web series’ The Slope and F to 7th.

The Slope, which Jungermann created with then-girlfriend Desiree Akhavan, followed a couple of “superficial, homophobic” lesbians in Park Slope, Brooklyn as they figured out their power dynamic and realise that they are “ultimately, perfect for one another.”

F to 7th, meanwhile, was perhaps even more successful than The Slope.

In this web series, Ingrid in her “descent into pre-middle age,” as she find herself “in a world where sexuality and gender have left her old-fashioned lesbianism behind.”

The Guardian called it one of the best web series of 2013.

fto7th5-600x337

In a similar vein to both series, Jungermann has written and directed feature film Women Who Kill. Women Who Kill, is also set in Park Slope and follows two true crime podcasters, Morgan (played by Jungermann) and her ex-girlfriend Jean (played by Ann Carr), as they suspect that Morgan’s new love interest Simone (played by Sheila Vand) of being a murderer.

download (8)

Speaking to Indie Wire, the filmmaker explains that Women Who Kill came about due to an “unhealthy obsession” with (popular podcast) Serial, as well as a “history of failed relationships and a desire to deconstruct romantic comedy structure.”

I wanted to make a movie that felt both familiar and foreign and tap into the universal problem of loneliness.”

While reviews still appear to be in the works, Filmmaker Magazine has called it one of ‘15 Films to Anticipate’ at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Alexis-11

Loren Hammonds, who is the programmer and live events producers for the film festival also calls Women Who Kill “an adept and wry comedy on modern romance’s hollow results set in an LGBTQ Brooklyn that pulls ample humor from awkward and, perhaps to confirmed Park Slopers, all-too-familiar situations.”

Hammonds also called it a “marvelous send-up of the search for meaning in modern-day relationships.”

You can visit the Tribeca Film Festival website for more information on how to see Women Who Kill.

13 Queer Female Characters I’d Hate to Hang Out With

Is it just me, or is there some unwritten rule somewhere that queer characters are either loved or hated, and rarely in between? Don’t get me wrong – I always love when there are queer characters in the first place, but some of them make me incredibly disappointed.

Sometimes I wonder – who makes these people up? Some of these characters are so unlikeable that I can’t imagine anyone being friends with them, let alone dating them. To each their own, I guess, but I really don’t understand it.

How many of these characters would you hate to hang out with? Do you have more to add? Let us know in the comments!


1.     Shana, Pretty Little Liars

5e372860-396f-0133-9d49-0af7184f89fb

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I’m a near-obsessive PLL fan. I love their inclusion as a not-bumbling-idiot lesbian character literally as one of the main crew. It’s pretty sad that’s so groundbreaking, but hey – at least I get it somewhere. They’ve included quite a few queer characters already – and even though a few of them have now been killed off or sent away, most of them have been pretty… Normal. It’s so nice to see normal representation that doesn’t feel forced.  Hallelujah!

Unfortunately, one of the pretty normal characters is the terrible, terrible Shana. She’s not exactly hate-inducing, for the most part, but she is a manipulative, back-stabbing wench who seriously did some emotional damage.


2.    Tori, Lost and Delirious

tumblr_mh5frwvXet1rpk19no1_500

I haven’t actually seen Lost and Delirious yet (it’s on my list), but every account of Tori makes me not want to like her. She might have her own problems, and in some ways we can all sympathize with having problems – but her character leaves Piper Perabo’s character, and no friend of mine would ever dump Piper Perabo!


3.    Jessica, Kissing Jessica Stein

anigif_original-grid-image-22389-1377877158-20

Of course, the idea of girl-meets-girl, girl-kisses-girl, boy-gets-girl-in-the-end automatically aggravates lesbians to no end. I know you can’t help who you fall for, but did you have to fall for him? Jessica’s character sounds a bit like me in some regards, so I’d probably get over my dislike eventually, but my heart would be broken the whole time.


4.    Piper, Orange is the New Black

giphy (13)

I feel like I’m supposed to want to hang out with Piper, and that’s probably why I wouldn’t want to. She seems like a younger, more homo-naïve version of myself (which is weird, because I’m pretty sure she’s older than I am?) but I can’t get over the fact that she’s just immature about so many things.


5.    Kennedy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

tumblr_li2tgipdlK1qaimf2o1_r1_500

This might be a little unfair, because it’s not Kennedy’s fault that I don’t like her. But she’s not Tara, and we’re pre-programmed to reject anyone who isn’t our favorite character’s OTL. But that doesn’t change the fact that Kenny definitely isn’t Tara, and she’s just distracting Willow from the appropriate mourning process. I mean, hello… She lost the love of her life and you’re just trying to get some? How rude.


6.    Marissa Cooper, The O.C.

Marissa-marissa-cooper-22090993-500-278

I can’t stand selfish people, and Marissa is a huge offender in that regard. She’s the pretty embodiment of every worst ex-girlfriend any lesbian has ever had in the history of ever and that would make her off-limits as a friend in my book. I could deal with her sad story if she wasn’t so hung up on herself all the time.


7.     Maureen, Rent

maureen-johnson

At first I thought I was alone in hating Maureen, but it turns out she bugs the hell out of other people, too – as she rightly should. She’s pretty, but she uses her beauty to manipulate and use people. I wouldn’t be able to hang out with her because I just know I’d fall for her charms, and I really can’t be involved with someone like that.


8.    Tamsin, My Summer of Love

tumblr_mjicotVRrM1s89mq8o1_500

Anytime someone is toying with someone else’s emotions, it’s an automatic “no” from me. I don’t tolerate my family members who do that, what would make me tolerate it in a friend? Tamsin was such a terrible person, and it really is a shame, because she’s so beautiful – don’t let the beautiful ones be evil!


9.    Jenny, The L Word

tumblr_inline_mk3jaeHXnP1qz4rgp (1)

I must admit: I had a pretty fat crush on Season One Jenny. But as she started to find her success, she let it warp her into this really awful person. She was manipulative, deceitful, narcissistic, cheating, animal abusing troll of a woman. Seriously, what the hell happened – and how do I make sure it never happens to me?!


10. Ashley, South of Nowhere

tumblr_m48lq1vKNA1r78f57o1_500

I feel like I’m alone among SoN fans on this one, but – despite my tremendous attraction for Mandy Musgrave as an actress, I absolutely hated her character. I feel like Spencer could have ended up with better, and as much as I didn’t care for her to be with Aiden, either, Ashley was just so… spoiled, and she felt spoiled, too. Can we have some bisexual ladies who aren’t rich snobs?


11.  Ramona, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

tumblr_o2t8xiM67C1sp43p0o1_500

There’s another bisexual character I’m not too terribly pleased with, too: Ramona. While she didn’t exactly do anything too terrible, I think that her dry humor and “let’s not make a big deal out of it” attitude about everything would put me off a bit if I were to try and hang out with her. I think the part of it that’s the worst to me is that I really, really wanted to like her – her crazy hair is fun and exciting… But I think I’d rather be friends with Julie.


12. Tina, The L Word

tumblr_mkjdfkotVE1qjl52xo1_500

Call me crazy, but… I was not happy that Bette and Tina ended up together. Tina was a complete troll about the whole Angelica thing, from the very beginning, and I think I would have the hardest time being friends with someone who acted like that. Where the women on the show often ended up hurting one another, Jenny and Tina are the only ones who set out to hurt the people they loved, and that makes me not want to be friends with either one of them.


13. Paige, Degrassi

tumblr_mx5jw3XvPS1qj4315o2_500

I had a crush on Alex for a long time, so when they first showed her kissing Paige, I was super happy. But then the more I thought about it, the more I really couldn’t stand Paige. She went crazy, and she totally took advantage of Alex’s love for her. Sure, Alex wasn’t exactly easy to be with, but Paige essentially grew to hate all the things she originally loved about Alex, and that never really sat right with me.


[interaction id=”568fa3a794a522de057902d6″]

Hit Lesbian Web Series ‘Starting From Now’ Will Return In Spring, Sizzling Trailer Released

The excellent Australian lesbian web series, Starting From … Now clocked up an amazing 20 million views since it’s first release, and proved popular with queer audiences around the world.

Season Four, is now on its way, with a new trailer being launched this week.

The shows creator, Julie Kalcef, says she created the series in direct response to a lack of diversity on Aussie screens, and the show features a talented cast who have come together to deliver the lives and loves of four women living in inner-Sydney.

Starting From Now 02

Starting with an illicit attraction between Steph (Sarah de Possesse) and her friend’s girlfriend, Darcy (Rosie Lourde – Felony), the series has rapidly grown across three seasons to touch on topics such as familial estrangement, drug and alcohol abuse, infertility and the desire to start a family in a lesbian relationship.

Starting-From-Now-teaser-trailer-1

Kalceff explains,

The focus of this series was never about sexuality and what it means to be a lesbian. From the beginning, the intention was to portray complex female characters that happen to be lesbians. The series is about what it means to be human and the diversity of issues we’re confronted with on a daily basis. It just happens to be set in the LGBTI community.”

Watch the first seasons online at www.kitschmix.tv. Season 4 will be available in March, 2016.

Full Out Review: A Well Acted Web Series, With Serious Potential

We first wrote about Full Out, the new web series from King Is a Fink and Open TV, earlier this month.

Starring Jess Duffy as Claire, a woman who has recovered from an injury that threatened to end her career, the show’s lead is now looking to take back her place in the limelight.

However, Claire is also hiding the fact that she’s gay, and being out could be just as detrimental to her career as her busted ankle.

Joining Claire in this cast of characters is fellow dancer, the loud, out and proud Taylor, Claire’s girlfriend Max, the competitive Kayla, and Xan, the autocratic and homophobic woman in charge of the dance company.

fullout-01

But, despite Full Out drawing you in with Claire’s relatable struggle with staying closeted and the way it teases the simmering tension, the flickers of something happening between Taylor and Claire, the series does manage to be a lot more than that a couple of recognisable tropes.

While it’s difficult to describe this without being incredibly spoilerific, Full Out, the show is as much about the hopes and dreams of these dancers as much as it is about shipping and disliking Xan and her miserable assistant.

Over everything, it feeds you a compelling story about a competitive world and the difficulties its inhabitants face, put up with and overcome. Whether they do wrong or right the characters are wonderfully written and for the most part, you can understand them.

Much of that can probably chalked down to some fabulous performances from the cast. While the sometimes shaky camerawork and some dodgy audio editing do a disservice to their talents, Full Out is one of the best acted web series around.

Admittedly, many web series come off seeming amateurish due to the fact that many of its actors are actually amateurs but you’ll find no lacklustre performances here.

Nana Visitor is a particular standout as, despite Xan’s all-round awfulness, the character’s manipulative ways are still brilliant to watch and you can almost see the cogs turning as she builds her dancers up and breaks them down. Full Out’s dance sequences are good fun too and the show is all the better for King is a Fink’s decision to get local Chicago dance talent in on the production.

However, I do feel that the five episode show (episodes are between 10 and 20 minutes long) could have benefited from another episode or two.

It’s unclear whether the production team is holding back because of second season plans but there are a few cases of things being set up only to offer disappointing conclusions.

For example, in one scene Xan admits to encouraging Claire to take pills (by having snuck them into Claire’s belongings) and it’s brushed off despite just how serious that is. In another scene, a heartfelt conversation between Max and Claire is too brief and we miss out on the opportunity to learn a little more about their dynamic.

So no, Full Out isn’t perfect, but its shortcomings don’t massively detract from everything else that’s going on and it’s still a web series worthy of your time.

Watch Full Out now on Open TV.

Queer Ballet Web Series ‘Full Out’ to Debut January 27

While 2015 was a standout year for LGBTQ+ representation in the media, early 2016 is shaping up to be fantastic too. In just a few weeks, our favourite queer TV shows, The 100, Jane The Virgin, How to Get Away With Murder and Broad City will all be back with fresh new content, while DC Comics show Legends of Tomorrow also debuts.

But as we say around these parts, you can never have too much queer content, so why not add another show to your list?

The show in question is Full Out, an upcoming web series about a ballet dancer named Claire (played by Jess Duffy) who returns to centre stage for “one final leap at the spotlight” following a “devastating injury”.

As if the challenge of recovering from an injury wasn’t enough (and she has just six weeks to make her comeback, too), there’s also the fact that Claire is in the closet.

fullout-03

While being out doesn’t appear to be a problem for fellow dancer Taylor (played by Kaitlin Webster), power hungry ballet boss Xan (played by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Nana Visitor) tells Claire that “people love a car accident, I’m just not sure they’re gonna show up for a gay car accident”.

The protective nature of Max (played by Carmilla’s Kaitlyn Alexander) is also described as an “obstacle” for Claire, so the dancer really doesn’t have it easy.

With Full Out promising “a story of ambition, manipulation, betrayal, and self-discovery” and also starring a cast of local Chicago dance talent, it’s quite difficult to show all of that in the series’ two minute trailer.

That said, it’s easy to trust that the series will be great given that King is a Fink (the production team behind other fab web series Plus One, #Hashtag and Rent Controlled) are also behind Full Out.

fullout-02

The first episode of Full Out is set to debut on January 27 on OpenTV, a video platform which is “open to artists who identify as queer, trans, and cis-women and persons of color” and “diverse communities left out of mainstream film and television production”.

Full Out has five episodes overall.

New Zealand’s First Lesbian Web Series ‘Pot Luck’, Seeks Crowdfunding Support

From the gentrified streets of London to the elevators of Italy and from the movie sets of Brazil to the many apartments/houses/basketball courts/pubs/clubs/just about every other building of the United States, this year web, web series about women who love women (WLW) have taken us all over the globe.

But one place that has yet to to show off its (fictional) queer female scene is New Zealand. Until now, that is, as the Oceanic country has gotten its very first lesbian web series in Pot Luck.

76b9ed7bb2d8987bff095702a4e7e30b

Pot Luck, says its creators, “serves up contemporary lesbian life in three great flavours”. Set in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, the series is all about three women: Mel (Nikki Si’ulepa), who is about as charming as they get, Debs (Anji Kreft), a shy butch, and Mel’s ex-girlfriend Beth (Tess Jamieson-Karaha).

potluck-ecaff5a4

The show gets its name from the ‘potluck’ dinners (a meal where each guest contributes a dish) that the three women have every week.

But, instead of just laughing, drinking and sharing some really good food (which sounds like a good time to me), they decide to turn the weekly meeting into a search for love and the “fun, sexy, and occasionally ridiculous” show follows them on this journey and as they ‘negotiate’ family life and friendship too.

Written and directed by NZ Film School and Whitirea’s Creative Writing Programme graduate Ness Simons, Pot Luck was actually inspired by Simons’ own pot luck dinners and speaking to Big Gay Picture Show she says that “there’s so much scope for story when you bring a group of women together, so it seemed like a good idea to build a series around friendship and food and the different dynamics around the table”.

1449699948988

Everyone can certainly agree with that and we all want more shows about more groups of women but while the first episode of Pot Luck is available now and was funded by the Emerging Artists Trust, it does need a bit of help to finish the first season.

Pot Luck is currently on the crowdfunding site Boosted where it’s seeking $22,500 to complete the remaining five episodes of the season; at the time of writing Pot Luck needs just over $4,000 to hit that goal, with 60 hours left on the clock so chip in if you want to see more of the show in future.

 

Lesbian Web Series ‘Lease Til Do Us Part’ Is Back

As promised, its back. ‘Til Lease Do Us Part – the hit web series from The Gay Women Channel’s Adrianna DiLonardo and Sarah Rotella – is back for a second season, and you get to binge watch daily from now until xmas.

Til Lease Do Us Part was DiLonardo and Rotella, first web series, and starred Starring Hannah Hogan and Joanne Sarazen. The storyline was about something most lesbians have experienced – two exes living together. (Check out the very first season one here.)

This time around we have new players in place, with a slightly different take. The story revolves around Elliot (Winny Clarke), and her best friend Jess (Angie Lopez) who live together.

The twist in the tale – Jess is dating “Lexi” (Morgan Kohan) and asks Lexi to live with them until she can get back on her feet. When Lexi and Elliot meet, Elliot finds out that she is actually ‘Alexis’, her ex (they were together for 2 weeks in high school). Awkwardness ensues…

Lease Til Do Us Part 02

So what makes the show work? Well it has to be the raw truth behind the humour. We’ve all had relationships that ended whether or not we wanted them to, and most of time (after these torturous break-ups) we still have to deal with our exes – like it or not.

This series hilariously shows us both sides coin. It’s a series keeps the laughs coming while probably giving some of you flashbacks of ex’s from the past.

And where can we watch the show? The great news is that the entire first season is available to watch at kitschmix.tv!

Season two will be with us day-by-day.

To stay up-to-date be sure to follow @GayWomenChannel on Twitter!

Groundbreaking Lesbian Web Series ’10percento’ Is Being Posted On Instagram

This year has blessed us with a variety of online LGBTQ content as we’ve had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to must-watch web series.

Each of these shows have episodes of around 10 or 5 minutes; bite size chunks just long enough to ramp up the drama but short enough to keep up with our frazzled attention spans.

Hoping to join the hallowed halls of web series greats is 10percento. However, Badhole, the group of Italian women filmmakers behind the series has chosen to forego the usual video platforms and is instead posting the entire thing on Instagram.

Not only does that name nod its head to the (slightly out-dated) statistic that 10% of the population is gay, but each ‘episode’ of 10percento is just 10 seconds long as well. Badhole is posting the series’ 100 episodes in batches of 25 each week (we’re now up to 75 episodes).

10percento

Across those 10 second snippets (which makes for about 16 and a half minutes of viewing altogether), viewers will follow two women as they are unfortunately and rather uncomfortably stuck in a lift.

The ‘stuck in a lift trope’ is a common one as anything can happen when you’re stuck in a tiny metal box for what feels like forever, forced to interact with this person who is stuck beside you and naturally, you’ll spend the full 100 episodes hoping that the women will get together.

But familiar love story plot aside, does the actual formatting work? Yes and no.

While each subtitled episode is easy to watch (it’s in Italian with English subs), 10 seconds or even 16 and a half minutes isn’t a crazy amount of time to tease a will they/won’t they plot and even those who struggle to keep up with traditional web series will may find the medium a little lacking.

On the bright side, though, Badhole will be posting a ‘director’s cut’ on YouTube at some point in the future so you may want to wait for that instead.

Easy Abby Season 2 Adds Guinevere Turner to the Cast

Easy Abby is one of the most well-liked and well-reviewed series on the web.

Not only did its first season garner over 30 million views online but it also won the the Audience Award at the North Carolina LGBT Film Festival and the show was recently featured on our list of web series that you absolutely need to watch.

And now the show is gearing up towards season two. In its first season, we met Abby we cheered for her as she spoke of her dreams (she wants to leave Chicago and move to Costa Rica to study coral reefs) and we smiled along as the show introduced us to Abby’s friends and her “many” lovers.

Easy Abby 02

Season two wants to build on that as not only will it “shed some light on Abby’s commitment issues” but Abby will get several new love interests as well and we’ll also meet her mother, Marilyn, who has manic depression.

Indeed, the show isn’t all mishaps with girls as it has “complex characters, awkward emotional moments” and it tackles the subject of depression, albeit “in an honest comedic way”.

The team behind Easy Abby describes the show as “funny” and “fresh” entertainment that’s both women-driven and “it doesn’t have to answer to mainstream TV gate keepers” either. And so it’s no wonder that several new cast members have joined the show, wanting to be part of a production that you’re unlikely to see on television any time soon.

Easy Abby 01

While there are no details on their characters at the moment, Guinevere Turner (The L Word, Go Fish, and Chasing Amy) is on board, as are Anna Albelo (Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf), Marga Gomez (HBO’s Comic Relief), and Dalila Ali Rajah (Dyke Central).

Easy Abby 04

As for when you can see the second season of Easy Abby, the show has filmed four episodes already but it has just ended a crowdfunding campaign in order to get funding to film the remaining eight episodes.

It raised just over $5,000 of its $10,000 goal, and though you can no longer pledge money via Indiegogo, people can still donate via PayPal – more information on how to do that can be found on the Easy Abby campaign page here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYfdcxw07Xo

‘Scissr’ Is A Lesbian Web Series That Needs Your Help To Complete Its First Season

Last week we brought you our list of queer web series picks, which ranged from a 1950s drama about a pub, a refreshing coming out story, and one about two actresses who fall in love as they’re shooting a movie. Hoping to join their ranks is Scissr, which needs your help in order to complete production on its first season.

Scissr‘s pilot, which was uploaded to YouTube last year, was hugely popular having garnered over 120,000 views from people all over the world (from the United States right to Malaysia) and it was also covered by over 100 print and online publications.

SCISSR 03

That lone episode, which has been described as a hilarious hybrid of The L Word and Girls, featured several women as they aimed to navigate the trials and tribulations of Brooklyn’s queer scene.

There was Emily, a punk rocker who’s looking for love in an increasingly small pool of options, Corey who recently broke up with her girlfriend, and the newly out Aviva who slept with Corey’s girlfriend. Yikes. (Jamie Clayton was also in the show as Niamh but since she now stars in Sense8 on Netflix, it doesn’t look like she’ll be returning to Scissr).

SCISSR 05

In our interview last year with Lauren Augarten (who plays Aviva) she explained that,

I came out later in life and there wasn’t a lot of lesbian TV or film I could identify with at the time, apart from The L Word. In other shows, the characters were in their thirties and lived these charmed lives. I couldn’t relate to this, as a twenty something living in Brooklyn struggling to make ends meet”.

She also told us if networks didn’t pick up the show, she’d go about producing the web series herself and that now seems to be the case.

Scissr is currently on Indiegogo seeking $30,000 of funding in order to make six more episodes at around 10-15 minutes each. The show has currently raised just over $10,000 with 11 days to go – it does have flexible funding and will receive any funds raised but obviously the more money they raise the better.

Some of the perks include a poster download, an invite to the wrap party in NYC, a t-shirt, and early access to the first season once it’s done.

Click here to support their crowdfunding campaign and to find out more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3nQ8_13ZRY

9 Lesbian Web Series You Absolutely Have to Watch This Year

Late last year we posted our roundup of ‘9 Lesbian Web Series You Should Have Watched by Now’.

It was a fantastic list but an entire year has passed and so many more shows have cropped up on the web since, gracing our lives with their presences and frankly, there were plenty of shows that last year’s list could have been included but, for whatever reason, didn’t make it (e.g Carmilla).

So, to bring you all up to speed on which lesbian web series you should snuggle up with as the weather gets that bit cooler, we’ve put together a brand new list with even more great picks.

Let us know what you think of the shows on the list and as always, we’d love to hear your suggestions for any other web series so leave a comment and maybe we’ll feature it on the next one!


1. Carmilla

When the last list was published, many of you asked ‘where the heck is Carmilla on this thing?’ and rightfully so. Doing away with all of the gross heteronormative junk that was the Twilight series, Carmilla is all about a vampire (named Carmilla) and a woman (named Laura) who fall in love. But, although you’ll start watching for the complicated romance for the two, you’ll stay for the antics that the two girls and their ragtag bunch of pals get up to.

In the first season, they went on a quest to discover why girls were going missing at their college campus, after Laura’s first roommate (the one before Carmilla moved in) went missing. With that mystery solved, season two follows the friends as they keep the college from falling into bad guys’ control.

The second season has just ended, though it’s worth noting that something called ‘season 0’ is also set to air later this month.

Carmilla Season2 06


2. Plus One

Plus One is easily one of the funniest web series that you’ll see all year, and we said as much in our review of it. Plus One follows stereotypical lesbian Alex who trips and falls in love with a woman named Holly. The Big Problem is that Holly is dating Alex’s best friend, Ben. Indeed, although Holly falls head over heels right back, how Alex and Holly deal with The Ben Issue becomes a key issue for them.

Despite this, though, Plus One is a barrel of laughs thanks to both the comedic performances of the entire cast (they all have their moments) and the fab writing of Mo Welch (who plays Alex) and Everyone Is Gay’s Dannielle-Owens Reid (who plays Kate, who is Alex’s wingwoman and BFF).

Plus One 01


3. Anyone But Me / The Lost Scenes

Right up there with The L Word, Anyone But Me is considered key viewing for anyone who is just coming out, especially if they’re young and are still in high school. That’s as Anyone But Me – which aired three seasons between 2008 and 2012 – follows the story of two high school girlfriends, Vivian and Aster as they handle Vivian’s big move away from New York City and how their relationship will (or won’t) survive the distance.

Massively popular and highly praised, Anyone But Me was briefly revived in September with The Lost Scenes. Rather than being a direct continuation of Vivian and Aster’s story, The Lost Scenes was designed to fit in with the original three seasons, so, whether you watched through all three as soon as they came out or are only finding ABM now, The Lost Scenes should appeal to you.

Anyone But Me


4. Last Life

Sadly, J.K Rowling never threw queer women a bone with Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer has long been off air, it looks like it’s up to web series Last Life to pick up the slack.

Complexly, Last Life features a woman called Sloan who has been possessed by the spirit of a man named Rick, who died three years ago. Sloan is on a mission to find Taylor, with Taylor having been Rick’s girlfriend before he kicked the bucket.

Taylor’s in some serious danger from Sloan’s clan and from her own psychiatrist so don’t expect this one to be all sitting around donning witches hats and making moonshine in cauldrons. (Also, the show’s creator has note that despite the supernatural antics of Rick possessing Sloan, “it’s about the connection two souls have” and this is still a girl meets girl story!)

last-life-01


5. Easy Abby

Described by one critic as the “anti-rom-com rom-com”, Easy Abby touches on one subject that affects lesbian and bi women disproportionately more than it affects heterosexual people: mental health.

One of Abby’s biggest struggles in this web series is that she has anxiety and the show follows Abby as she navigates that along with the rest of the troubles in her life (e.g family and money issues).

As for the things going right in Abby’s life, the show creators explain that “finding [women] to sleep with” is the only thing that comes easy to our protagonist. Plus, her friends also have her back, pushing her to “expand her idea of freedom”.

It’s the relatively honest portrayal of a queer woman’s life that has led Easy Abby to be viewed by millions of people online so you can’t really go wrong here.

easy-abby-2


6. Be Here Nowish

Comedy Central show Broad City is already pretty queer as it is, with one of the show’s lead characters, Ilana having slept with a woman and having a big gay crush on her BFF.

But despite this, we very often find ourselves wondering ‘what if it was gayer?’ If it was gayer then it would probably be called Be Here Nowish, as the web series aims to depict the lives of “two sexually progressive New York gals who ditch their down-and-out lives for LA in search of a spiritual awakening.”

They do ditch NYC for LA, mind you, but the way that they try and acclimatise to the West Coast is one of the best (and the funniest) things about it.

As for the gay side of things, Nina makes her living as a drug dealer but in her personal life she’s pretty atrocious at committing to girlfriends. Though, in general, Be Here Nowish is pretty queer(-ish) as it aims to show a real world where “people choose their personal pronouns, girls look like boys, boys look like girls, sexuality is fluid, sex is complicated” and, of course, where “laughter is abundant”.

Be-Here-Nowish


7. Red

Hailing from Brazil, Red is the South American country’s very first lesbian-themed web series and the show was originally created in order to address the fact that Brazil has an incredibly low amount of LGBT representation in its media in comparison to other major countries.

The show, which has aired two seasons and is about to release its third, features two women named Mel and Liz who are co-stars on a film. Mel is a starlet on the rise and she has a pretty good thing going with her husband, Henrique, but when she and Liz, a woman who is rarely without female suitors, grow closer, all of the “stability” in Mel’s life starts to slip out of her grasp.

The creators hope that Red portrays the relationship between the two in a “frank and genuine” way and the majority of viewers agree that it does exactly that, so you can watch its first two seasons (for free) on Vimeo, with Spanish or English subtitles available.

RED-01


8. Out With Dad

Like Anyone But Me, Out With Dad is one that’s ideal for teens who are coming to terms with (or have just come out) and are looking for a way to reconcile their feelings about their identity and how their families will accept it (though arguably it’s cute and soppy enough for all ages). It features a girl named Rose who, coming to terms with her sexuality and navigates those first few steps of realising that she’s gay.

Across four seasons, Out With Dad has tackled things like homophobia, Rose’s first girlfriend, Rose’s first heartbreak and, of course, how she learns to handle it all. First debuting in 2010, Out With Dad has gained plenty of awards from all sorts of institutions, including Best Web Series, Best Actress and even Outstanding Use of Music so you’ll quickly fall in love with this one.

Out With Dad


9. The Chanticleer

While all of the shows on this list are fairly modern (even Carmilla – despite that featuring a centuries old vampire), The Chanticleer is set all the way back in 1955.

It stars a woman named Edie Chaucer as she hotfoots it back to upstate New York in order to start running the bar that previously belonged to her (now-dead) father.

Edie’s bar, in addition to being staffed by queer folk (including Val, who dresses in both men’s and women’s clothing) it’s also frequented by many too, becoming somewhat of the go-to hotspot. It’s that that sees Edie, Val and co. having to defend the place from corrupt cops who want the place closed down and across The Chanticleer‘s episodes six episodes, you see the characters navigate that, love, friendship and more.

TheChanticleer-06

Why Web Series ‘Plus One’ Is The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

First of all she’s straight, and I’m not doing that again”

This line, said by Alex in episode three of Plus One, is certainly a familiar statement.

As queer folk, we know that straight women are a no-go zone. We tell each other that they’ll break our hearts, that they’ll leave us lonely and we should avoid them at all costs. We should doubly avoid them if they’re dating our male best friends too.

Sadly for Alex, being the lead character in a web series means that some drama is always set to go down and in Plus One, drama’s name is Holly.

She’s beautiful, funny, talks about being ‘fluid’ and she’s looking at Alex like she wants to shack up with her, adopt five cats (named after the core L Word cast, natch), and get matching plaid shirts with ‘Hers’ and ‘Hers’ embroidered on the lapel.

Screen Shot 2015-07-30 at 12.46.09

The problem is, Holly is dating Ben and Ben’s head over heels for her. So what’s a lovestruck lesbian to do?

The answer, you’ll see, is to go for it anyway. The morals are murky but the hearts-in-eyes are apparent and so just like Kate, Alex’s sidekick and bestie, you’ll be encouraging her to go for it, giving in to what her heart wants even if it’ll lead to hurt feelings, frosty silences and repeated ‘what the f—ks!’ in raised voices.

Plus One 02

Screen Shot 2015-07-30 at 12.43.40

From that description, you’ll understand that Plus One is a little tropey and its story is familiar to anyone who has watched any popular media featuring gay people in the past decade (e.g The L Word season one) but that’s not a bad thing.

Plus One is a real shippers’ delight; as Holly and Alex fall for each other, you fall for their relationship too, despite its position in the grey area.

There will be cheers and whoops and maybe even a few happy tears watching these two get together and it’s also why Plus One’s five episodes (which are about 10 minutes apiece) are perfect binge watch material.

Plus One 01

And even when Plus One isn’t kicking your heart to Mars and validating all of your straight crushes (because yes we’ve all had them), it’s laugh out loud funny too.

Call me cold, or missing a funny bone, but there aren’t a lot of shows that can make me laugh, but this one did that several times, even when I re-watched and knew that the jokes were coming.

Dannielle Owens-Reid and Mo Welch’s writing is truly on point and Barb (Kate’s girlfriend – although Kate is reluctant to admit it) is one of the single funniest characters I’ve ever witnessed on screen.

Plus One comes highly recommended then, though I do have a few criticisms. For example, the audio in some of the kitchen scenes (along with the aforementioned “first of all she’s straight” scene) is a little off and in a very small amount of scenes, the camera is also a little shaky.

Also, I definitely would have liked more episodes of Holly and Alex’s will they/won’t they dynamic, since half of the fun is watching your favourite characters free fall in like with each other, but hopefully Plus One will get a season two that delivers more sappy moments between them.

Plus One can be seen exclusively on One More Lesbian/Tello. Subscriptions are only $4.99 a month, which isn’t a lot to support queer made and produced content.

Queer Web Series ‘Last Life’ Features Spells, Secrets and Soulmates

What is it about about witchcraft that attracts queer female audiences? Is it the heavy focus on female friendship and empowerment, and that witch covens often work together to achieve some sort of common goal? Is it the fact that in the supernatural world of spells, demons, trolls and possessions, gender roles and heteronormativity don’t apply?

Or is it just the fact that queer women are fed up as seeing themselves as one-note characters, stifled by the storylines of men and shows about witches just seem to cater to that?

One of the most famous television shows of all time –Buffy the Vampire Slayer – covered all of those things, even if its famous femslash couple ended in misery. But with BTVS having ended its run some time ago and with the CW’s teen witch drama The Secret Circle being cancelled before it fully delved into its ‘non-het witches’ storyline, there’s been a bit of a hankering for that sort of show recently.

Could new web series Last Life fill that void? Quite possibly. The show stars a witch named Sloan, who is essentially the boss of a clan called the Bloodborn. Then there’s Taylor, who had a boyfriend named Rick, but Rick died three years ago and Taylor is still in mourning. But Sloan has actually been possessed by Rick’s soul and is trying to find Taylor, fast.

last-life-01

Why is Sloan so desperate to find Taylor? The rest of Sloan’s clan are intent on killing Taylor off, meanwhile, a rival clan called Alina have drugged Taylor with the help of her psychiatrist. So it’s not looking good for Sloan’s love interest but as is the case with most supernatural shows, most of the fun comes from seeing how the rivalry plays out, spells and all, and trying to figure out the mysteries of its witchy lore.

It’s also important to note that there has been some backlash from would-be viewers about the implications of Sloan being a woman possessed by Rick and if that really counts as ‘femslash’, but Last Life‘s writer and creator Elesha Barnette has explained that “it’s not a man in a woman’s body. It’s a soul. They have been both Male/Male, Female/Female, genderqueer throughout centuries of reincarnations. It’s not about gender, it’s about the connection two souls have” and that “it’s not a heteronormative web series masquerading as lesbian content”, it’s a “girl meets girl story”.

Episodes of Last Life can now be viewed KitschMix.TV.

LGBT Vampire Web Series ‘Carmilla’ starts its Second Season TODAY (Video)

One thing we were all grateful for last year was the YouTube hit Carmilla, the vampire web series that not only had a strong story, but a whole lot of queerness too.

Usually queer vampires don’t get happy endings. They get staked into goo or ashed or abandoned for someone more alive and straight, but this show is different.

Carmilla Season2 07

Carmilla (inspired by the infamous novella by J. Sheridan Le Fanu) is all about a girl called Laura (Elise Bauman), whose college roommate disappears into thin air. Following a round of other weird disappearances of other girls on campus, she puts together a series of vlogs to document her journey as she attempts to get to the bottom of it.

Well with one roomie vanishing into nothing, leaving just a trail of unidentified goop in her wake, Laura gets a new one in the form of the titular Carmilla (Natasha Negovanlis).

Carmilla Season2 05

Carmilla likes late nights, setting things on fire and flirting unashamedly with Laura. Oh, and she also happens to be a vampire too! The main ship on the show, Carmilla causes trouble for Laura but is also a surprising ally in the race to save the missing roommate and discover what happened to the other girls who’ve been taken.

But, Laura/Carmilla shippers have another roadblock to face (as if the whole, undead vampire thing wasn’t enough) in the form of Danny (Sharon Belle). Danny is a new friend of Laura’s who also appears to have a little crush on her too. It’s sweet! Both Laura-centric ships are adorable and it’s clear there’s something there even if the show doesn’t seem to be interested in sticking labels all up on them.

As if that wasn’t enough, add the adorable mother hens of the show LaFontaine (Kaitlyn Alexander), and ‘Type A’ dorm monitor Perry (Annie Briggs).
Carmilla Season2 03 Carmilla Season2 02 Carmilla Season2 01

Carmilla Season2 04

So in short, Carmilla has a fantastic premise, a mostly female cast of characters to fall in love with and some queer lovelines to follow too.

That’s probably everything we’ve been looking for in a show and episodes are about 4 minutes long on average. So what are you waiting for?

Seriously, trust us on this one. New episodes of Carmilla will air on Tuedays and Thursdays.

Season 2 of Brazilian-based Lesbian Web Series ‘RED’ is on it Way (Video)

The Brazilian-based web series RED focuses on two actresses, Mel and Liz, who meet while filming a movie and find that their mutual attraction throws them both for a loop.

In season one, we saw Liz, who has no trouble attracting women, falling for the very married Mel.

Mel, who has always assumed she was happy in her life and marriage, begins to feel a pull towards Liz that she never expected.

s1e2-red-a-cor-vermelha s1e8-red-in-vino-veritas (1)

Created by Viv Schiller and Germana Bolo, the series is beautiful put together and well acted. Lead actresses Ana Paula Lima (Liz) and Luciana Bollina (Mel) are stunning and completely captivating.

The new season starts Friday 29th May. However, you can see the first full season of RED free at KitschMix TV.

Follow RED on Twitter and Instagram for more updates.

Australia’s Most Watched Lesbian Drama ‘Starting From…Now!’ Seeks Funding

While we may argue about our favourite femslash ships and which TV shows and movies portray queer people in the best light, what we all agree on is that there simply aren’t enough queer women in our media. And when we are lucky enough to queer ladies on our screens, they’re often sidelined or even worse, reduced to just their sexuality or gender identity.

This is a problem that Australian web series Starting From…Now! has aimed to tackle as the four inner-city lesbians at the heart of its story deal with a variety of difficult subjects (including infertility, drug and alcohol abuse and lesbian couples starting families) across the course of its three seasons.

Julie Kalceff, who directs and writes the show explains that:

From the beginning, the intention was to portray complex female characters who happened to be lesbians. The series is about what it means to be human and the diversity of issues we’re confronted with on a daily basis… It just happens to be set in the LGBTI community.”

Unfortunately, while Starting From…Now!’s take on queerness is refreshing and the series has experienced massive success (the show is Australia’s most watched lesbian drama and it has amassed several million views) it needs outside help to make season four. The bar has been set at $35,000 and although it has raised just over $6,000 (with seven days to go), it has flexible funding and so even if it doesn’t reach the full $35,000 goal, it will receive every penny raised via indiegogo.

It’s also worth noting that Starting From…Now! could be a launch point for even more lady led content as the indiegogo explains that they could “potentially transition into funded film and television content” including “2 long form television series and multiple feature films in development; some of which are Starting From… Now! spin offs, all of which are led by women, and feature lesbian characters”.

We all want to see more lesbians in our media, right? Find out more here.

Watch season 1, 2 and 3 of Starting From…Now right now at Kitscmix.tv

Season One of Diverse Web Series ‘Dyke Central’ Premieres April 10

You’ve probably noticed that queer women don’t have it so great when it comes to TV-land.

LGBTQ women are consistently bumped off for the sake of another character’s ‘development’, the stories are never as fleshed out as those of their cis, heterosexual peers, and on the rare occasions that LGBTQ women’s’ stories are treated with the same respect, the women that they feature tend to be white and femme.

In walks Dyke Central, which was made as creator Florencia Manovil felt that the queer community has “just constantly struggled with seeing representation of queers that were highly feminine, mostly white…that are pretty. It’s a pretty homogenous representation.” You may have heard of the web series if you’ve been following queer online media for a couple of years as back in April, 2013, the very first episode of Dyke Central was uploaded to YouTube and it was a surefire hit.

The show is a drama/comedy that focuses on the lives of Alex (a black butch lesbian) and Gin (a genderqueer Filipina) who are two best friends trying to live their lives in the emerging queer city of Oakland, California. Their struggles are the same struggles that many queer viewers will face; how do you deal with a relationship you feel trapped in? How do you find a half-decent roommate? How the heck do you stay organised when everything seems to be happening all at once? It’s honest and human with sometimes funny and sometimes awkward situations that plenty of us can relate to.

Dyke-Central-08

In addition to Alex and Gin – who are fantastic examples of queer representation in their own right – the cast also features a Latina femme, several trans* characters and characters “from all over the gender expression spectrum”.

Dyke Central is trying to fill a diversity gap but none of these characters ever feel shoehorned in. At the end of the day, many queer people do have queer friendship groups as diverse as this and so in this show no one feels out of place. Everyone just is who they are and that feels completely normal and organic.

Dyke-Central-09

The first two episodes of Dyke Central are available for free at KitschMix.TV, but all 10 episodes of Dyke Central‘s first season will be available pay-per-view on DykeCentral.com from April 10, 2015.

Dyke-Central-05

Lesbian Pulp Web Series ‘The Chanticleer’ Debuts

If you think lesbian representation is bad now then consider what it was like in the 1950s and 60s where being gay was still an act punishable by law in many places across the world.

As a result of the criminalisation, all things gay got a bad rep and were seen as ‘dirty’ or ‘seedy’, right up their with gangs, drugs and murder.What its reputation did pave the way for, however, is lesbian pulp fiction. ‘Pulp’ fiction was called that as the books were printed on cheap pulp wood paper and as they were purposefully sensational and weren’t respect at all in literary circles, it also meant that they were able to duck the censors.

Much of the content of lesbian fiction wasn’t very good (the books were designed to fulfil straight male fantasies) and usually featured predatory lesbians, voyeurism and even witchcraft. But still, lesbian pulp fiction is an important checkpoint on the way to good representation. And now, as a bit of a throwback to the era and all of the lesbian tropes it introduced, new web series The Chanticleer has just made its debut.

TheChanticleer-03

Set in 1955, The Chanticleer features a woman named Edie Chaucer as she comes back to New York to take over her (deceased) father’s bar. As you’re probably hoping, things get real queer real fast when Edie hires a young lesbian named Val who quickly causes controversy due to her dress sense. Y’see, Val dresses in both men and women’s clothing, much to the despair of other gay characters who like to keep it strictly butch or femme only.

Typical gender roles aside though, The Chanticleer packs in both a dramatic and romantic punch. There are plenty of queer women here for you to ship and you’ll be rooting for Edie, Val and co. as they fend off their territory from the likes of corrupt cops who are doing everything in their power to shut Edie’s queer hotspot down. Not that Edie will give up the bar without a fight, mind you.

There will be six episodes of The Chanticleer in total, with two already posted on KitschMix.TV. The next episode will premiere on April 1st, 2015.

 

9 Lesbian Web Series You Should Have Watched By Now

We often complain that there is not enough lesbian representation in the media. However, slowly but surely things are changing.

There are now great production teams, artists, and producers around the world creating amazing films, lesbian web shows, documentaries, and TV series that provide true lesbian content, and true entertainment.

There is now an abundance of lesbian web series to choose from, and we have listed out some of our favourite shows from this year below.


1. Kiss Her I’m Famous

From the award-winning filmmaker Rolla Selbak, this lesbian web series is based on two hilarious and clueless characters, played by The Real L-Word’s Tracy Ryerson and Ilea Matthews, who aim to create a celebrity sex tape to launch them into fame.

With 2 seasons now out, the series is fantastic and we can’t wait for a next season.


2. Rods and Cones

Rods & Cones’ is a comedy series about high-power, low-profit comics Carole and Mitzi, as they take on their rivals, The MILFies.

The comedy is the first original web series to premiere on Wifey.tv, a video network by and for women. Watch the first season of ‘Rods and Cones’ on KitschMix.TV


3. Red

The new Brazilian web show RED, is a lesbian-themed web series, independently produced and financed by its creators, Viv Schiller and Germana Belo. Based in Rio de Janeiro, the show tells the story of two actresses, Mel Béart and Liz Malmo, that meet on the set of a short film called RED. The two women soon take their developing romance from the set, to real life.

We highly recommend you all start watching this slick new series that already has our pulses racing – addictive viewing.


4. Be Here Nowish

‘Be Here Nowish’ is a new comedy by Natalia Leite and Alexandra Roxo about two sexually progressive New York gals who ditch their down-and-out lives for LA in search of a spiritual awakening. The creators say they made the show to reflect a world in which ‘people choose their personal pronouns, girls look like boys, boys look like girls, sexuality is fluid, sex is complicated, and laughter is abundant’.

If you’re a fan of Broad City, or any other show involving two best friend’s making complete and utter fools of themselves, you’re in for a treat.

Be-Here-Nowish


5. Brown Girl Problems

Fawzia Mirza, creator of the character Kam Kardashian, brings you a new comedic web series, ‘Brown Girl Problems’. It is a sketch-style series showcasing the comedic, awkward and even imaginary situations in the life of South Asian women. The show highlights Mirza’s own minority backgrounds: South Asian, Muslim, queer. Start watching

BrownGirlProblems-sml


6. Girl/Girl Scene

Now on season 3, the high drama, super sexy lesbian web series, ‘Girl/Girl Scene‘, is a must watch. It is a vibrant, vital and honest web series and a true reflection of today.

“Based on the lives and loves of four young friends, this series boldly goes where no other has gone before – between the sheets and into the minds and hearts of unapologetically queer women living in middle America.”

girlgirlscene.com

The shows lead character is Evan, which is actually played by creator/writer of the series Tucky Williams, and what we love about the show is it is refreshingly non-judgmental, while telling funny, provocative and controversial story-lines. Start watching

GirlGirl-Scene-06


8. Starting From Now

Another web series in it 3rd season, but its a cracker. If you haven’t seen the lesbian web series from Australia, then you’re missing out. ‘Starting From Now‘ is a lesbian drama centred around a steamy love triangle. From Common Language Films, the hot internet show stars Sarah de Possesse, Rosie Lourde, Lauren Orrell, Bianca Bradey, and Linda Grasso. Watch all season here at KitschMix.TV


9. K&A

Again, if you like Broad City, then you will love this. Set in the city of Boston, this comedy centres around Karly (straight) and Alex (lesbian), best friends since college, whose dysfunctional, co-dependent, drinking, and drug taking relationship impedes them from ever finding someone special in their lives besides each other.

Created by Katie Shannon and Katie Thompson, and starring Audrey Johnson and Ashley Elmi – this ‘no-holds-bar’ web series is a delight to watch. The first episode premiered back in June, but you can catch the full series here.

K&A

OUTrageous, An Interactive Reality Web-Series About Queer Women

OUTrageous is a planned reality web-series that will start off following the daily lives of 5 dynamic women from the Los Angeles LBGTQ community. Each episode will highlight current community issues, as well as these women’s personal experiences. Furthermore, these women will come together to talk about issues that they encounter in their day-to-day lives and within the community.

[tweet_dis]”We don’t want the Networks to tell us what to do! We want to bring something timely, slightly controversial, social conscious and exciting to our community, our allies, and the world! We need your help to make this happen…let’s do this together!”[/tweet_dis]

OUTrageous Mission

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg1IxgObxs0

Something interesting about the show, and sets it apart from other series is the fact it will be interactive. Audiences are encouraged to can chime in, interact with the cast, and help drive some of the action.

OUTrageous‘s creator Pony Gayle has launched an IndieGogo campaign to help fund the production costs of the series. So if you are a fan of reality shows, and stories about queer women, get supporting.  You can donate to OUTrageous’s fundraising campaign at IndieGogo.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSFS77dpuNU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWNPjPcfVg

 

Watch ‘Hustle of A Female DJ’ : The Journey of a Black British Lesbian Looking to Build Her Career in Music

DJ Chillz is the current resident DJ at popular LGBT club nights Bootylicious & LUSH in London. She is also a presenter for Jumpoff TV, presenting TURNT, which is a weekly alternative to clubbing event where you can bowl, play pool & listen to a live DJ.

At the end of the summer, Chillz released the first episode to new online show following her journey as a female DJ. Styled as mini diary-documentary, ‘Hustle of a Female DJ’ gives an honest insight into her life and her development in the music industry.

The aim of Hustle of A Female DJ is to give insight on how it is for a Black, Lesbian Female in the music industry to carve a career as DJ. The UPs and Downs.. So far the first 2 episodes are just introductions with the next few episodes going into more depth. Day to day bookings, promotions, interviews and just trying to balance my career.”

DJ Chillz

Catch the first episode below. The rest of the series will feature on KitschMix.TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzrEmJaiF-E

Watch the Trailer for Season 3 of the Hit Australian Web Series ‘Starting From Now’

Another Season 3 trailer for the hit web series ‘Starting From Now’, which will be with us November 18th. Both season 1 & 2 have been a massive internet hit with more than 3 million views.

Actors, Bianca Bradey, Sarah de Possesse, Rosie Lourde, Lauren Orrell and Linda Grasso are still with show, and writer / director, Julie Kalceff, remains at the helm of the production.

download

 

 

Feminism, Farts, & Fun – See the Trailer For New Web Series ‘Wildcats’

Wildcats is the web-series brain child of Rachel Puchkoff. The setting for this new show is high school, we’re we follow Allison, a varsity cheerleader coming to terms with her sexuality.

According to the production team, the show is about standing up for what you believe in, keeping up appearances, and the complexities of farting in a tight uniform. As Allison struggles with opposing the sexist traditions of her school (and what that may or may not suggest about her sexuality) she dances, dreams, and falls her way to some clarity.

Watch all 5 episodes of Wildcats at KitschMix.TV

WILDCATS-01

Visibility is important! Women are still misrepresented in the Film & Televison industry even after proof that people can be entertained by stories centered around women (Bridesmaids! Girls!). I believe that continuing to tell women-centric stories (that include Gay and Lesbian characters- especially in a society that has not fully accepted them) is the only way to close the gap. 

This is a comedy, but it also highlights the growing pressure on girls to focus more on how they are perceived vs. their substance. A product of that double standard is a seemingly confident young woman paralyzed when it comes to making actual subjective and self-directed decisions. Allison is an example of that girl who is stuck between obligation and opportunity.

Being a teenager is hard……and that can be hilarious. As Allison deals with the realization that not everyone actually knows what they are talking about- you will laugh and hopefully see a perspective you may have missed before.”