Tag Archives: tello films

Tellofilms Bring Us Another Awesome Lesbian Web Series ‘The List’ Ft Clementine Ford, Lindsay Hicks, Saffron Burrows, ‘The Real L Word’s’ Tracy Ryerson,

It doesn’t seem that long ago that The Real L Word first entered our lives and our screens.

For The L Word fans and new viewers alike, it definitively left a long-lasting impression. Unapologetic, fast-paced and real (was it though?), each of us had a favourite character. And one of mine was Tracy Ryerson, so I couldn’t be happier to announce that she will be back in our screens.

The nine-part web series, written by Kelleen Conway Blanchard, and produced and directed by Jillian Armenante, will focus on Chloe (Lindsay Hicks), a chef who is going through a rough patch with Mike (Josh Bitton ), her boyfriend.

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Chloe’s a hopeless romantic and Mike is oblivious. After an innocent conversation with her best friend Winston ( James Evan Bonifant), on which celebrities would be on their “free pass list,” it’s revealed that Chloe wouldn’t mind dipping her toes in the lady pool, more specifically with Tina Max (played by the impeccable Saffron Burrows).

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Distributed by tellofilms.com, The List is executive produced by Christin Baker who

This is a concept that I have been batting around for years and knew that Jillian and writer Kelleen were the perfect duo to bring it to life. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast to play these characters.”

Well, where does Ryerson fit into this show?

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Well, we aren’t quite sure yet, but along side Ryerson, we have other L Word alumms joining the cast too. Does “I know that I’m still Gay 101, but I’m a really fast learner.” ring a bell?

Yep, that’s right, Clementine Ford is also in the show. She will also be joining the cast and although we are still not entirely sure how Ford’s or Ryerson’s characters will be like, or even how big of a role they will have on “The List”, I surely can’t wait to find out!

We can however expect well-written queer characters, since tello Films focuses on producing and distributing web-series with a lesbian focus and moreover, with a focus on authenticity and bringing forward stories and experiences not only about lesbians but also for lesbians. Tello Films has even mentioned “(…) that lesbian/queer characters are front and center.” Is this a dream?!

Tracy has even expressed how excited she is about this project: “I am so glad to be in another fun series on tellofilms.com. I think the tello audience will get a kick out of this series.”

The List premieres on the 2nd of October.

Will you be watching the return of both Tracy Ryerson and Clementine Ford to TV? We’ll keep you posted on The List.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

How Tello’s Queer Web Series Can Save You From Boring TV Shows

According to GLAAD’s annual ‘Where We Are On TV’ report for 2014, just 32 out of 813 primetime broadcast scripted series regulars will be LGBT (3.9%). Even if you agree with the low ball statistic that 1 in 10 people are queer, that number doesn’t cut it and most definitely doesn’t reflect the queer faces who are watching these TV shows and trying to relate to the characters’ stories. Over half of these characters on primetime television are also queer men and the few queer women who we get to see are often subject to uncomfortable and familiar tropes such as Pretty Little Liars’ Emily who cheated on her girlfriend and kissed a guy, or the many queer female characters who are killed off.

At times it can be impossible to enjoy television, when you’re well aware that your favourite TV lesbian is playing second fiddle to a mundane heterosexual love triangle and it can leave you with nothing to watch on the telly. But while TV fails, the Internet can help pick up the slack and as one of the most popular portals for queer web series, tellofilms should be your number one destination for fictional queer ladies.

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tellofilms’ co-creator Christin Baker explains:

“I realised that the web was becoming an interesting space for non-traditional entertainment, and wanted to explore it. Our focus has always been to make series distributed over the web, specifically for a lesbian audience.

I did it because it’s stuff that I like to watch. I’ve put my own money into the company – it had to be something I wanted to watch. Because, at the end of the day, if you’re putting your free time, money, blood, sweat and tears into something, you’d better be passionate about it.”

Saying that The Fosters, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black and new Amazon web series Transparent are “shows that are trying”, Baker also states that “those shows will eventually get canceled like The L Word. On the other hand, [tellofilms has] new content all the time.”

Also: Why Rent Controlled Is The Funniest Web Series You’ll Watch

That list of shows Baker mentions could see them each go on for five seasons or so, proud of the fact that they feature queer female leads but once they end due to the natural closure of the plot or diminished viewership, we’d be lucky to see them replaced with something just as queer friendly. They are the exceptions not the rule. And with tello’s 15 or so web series (a roster constantly being added to) all featuring lesbians both in front of and behind the camera (such as the hilarious #Hashtag and Rent Controlled) viewers will constantly have queer media to enjoy – even when other inclusive shows or cancelled or are on hiatus.

As tellofilms continues to do well and strives to deliver more great content to its 3500~ subscribers, Baker says that “We’re interested in honouring our audience and subscribers outside of just letting them watch content. We’ve started to create this great community and now we’re really excited to figure out what that looks like and what that is.”

One exciting project that subscribers should look forward to later this year is a yet-untitled project about a ballerina who has to “slum it” at a queer, modern dance company after she suffers an injury.

But as for those who aren’t subscribed to tello, as a small business owner Baker offers sage wisdom, “It’s important to support indie artists. If you notice something missing – it’s probably out there, being made by someone in the indie community.”