Tag Archives: Rent Controlled

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.”

Why Everyone Should Watch #Hashtag, a Hilarious Web Series About Modern Life

Let it be said that the digital age is an absolute blessing. Thanks to the Internet people have found work, people have access to incredibly important information, people have found fame and with apps and sites like OkCupid and Tinder you no longer have to guess someone’s sexuality and if you stand a chance, making that famous scene from The L Word a true relic from the past.

But the Internet poses plenty of problems too. What happens when your online relationships get complicated and spill out into real life? What happens when you learn something you shouldn’t (or something you really didn’t want to know) because someone likes to overshare on social media?

These are the very questions that #Hashtag, a queer web series from tellofilms, answers in hilarious, captivating style. Series two of #Hashtag premiered on Sunday the 18th of January following a popular debut last spring and we can confirm that it was very much worth the wait.

The new series opens with best friends Liv (Laura Zak) and Skylar (Caitlin Bergh) in a bit of a pickle. Liv is all loved up with Tash (Marnie Alton) and they’re adorable together (all of Liv’s Instagram followers think so) but is Liv really ready for the commitment? Meanwhile, Skylar definitely wasn’t ready to commit with ex-girlfriend Miriam (Amy Thompson) after a kiss with Rose sent their relationship skittering down the toilet. Skylar does have a burgeoning career on her hands though as her Vine videos (as #couchgirl) are beginning to take off.

But even as it all goes to pot, just like the characters in tellofilms’ other web series Rent Controlled, you really feel for Liv and Skylar and if you’re not dying to give them a hug, you’re laughing at their tragedy (e.g the scene in the first episode where Skylar cries dramatically in the bathtub) or relating to them immensely (e.g when Liv just wants to ditch all responsibility, eat snacks and watch Orange is the New Black on Netflix).

It makes for brilliant, captivating viewing and you’ll be dying to know what happens – whether the two will get their acts together or if you’ll have to watch them spiral for a little longer.

And even the supporting characters of Jo (Stefanie Sherk) who is Liv’s online friend and Emily (Remy Maelen) who has a boyfriend but is exploring the girl/girl scene thanks to their newly open relationship, provide great entertainment.

It’s very rare that you get a series where you genuinely care about all of the characters and storylines unfolding on screen but with #Hashtag series two you do actually end up rooting for everyone, which is a pleasant surprise.

The only downside to the show is that its nine episodes air weekly and come out every Sunday (the last episode of the season airs on March 15th) rather than being released all at once. However, the anticipation is most definitely worth it.

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Visit the tellofilms website to watch #Hashtag now.

Why Rent Controlled Is The Funniest Web Series You’ll Watch in 2014

As queer adult women there are experiences that many of us share: we all have that ex we can’t get over, that crush we know we shouldn’t have and there’s that one straight girl we know to avoid for the fear of falling a little bit in love with her. Yet these experiences aren’t reflected in the many shows about adults finding their way in the world.

Lena Dunham‘s HBO series girls was hailed as ‘the show’ for women in their 20s, but the show is too white (despite being based in New York City) for us to buy into. Friends is funny but having started in the 90s it’s about as inclusive as a group of grumpy old men and Sex and the City is so heterosexual that it borders on offensive. So it is a struggle to find shows that represent us and entertain us which is why we should be looking away from our TVs and at the web instead.

One show that takes the best bits of Girls, SatC and Friends (with the queerness of The L Word thrown in) is Rent Controlled, a new web series from tello Films.

Rent Controlled introduces us to the fabulous (yet hapless and pathetic) Heather Dean. A queer woman of colour, she’s got limited funds, schoolwork to keep on top of and she’s dating with a woman named Jennifer who doesn’t love Heather as much as Jennifer loves herself. Relatable so far? You bet it is; so when the two inevitably break up and Heather’s heart cracks into a thousand tiny and adorable pieces you only feel for her even more.

Not that the heartbreak is completely ‘wring your heart out’ though, or really sad at all. The seven episode season mostly focuses on Heather navigating her living situation (her and Jennifer share a room in a house belonged to a couple named Ted and Carla), picking herself up and dusting herself off with the help of Kyle and Lauren (her best friends) all in hilarious fashion.

There’s misinformed daytime drinking, night time underage drinking, and dealing with the outcomes of having drunk too much. Along with the alcohol there’s also awkwardness, make-outs, first dates, new friendships, bad dancing and, in the best description of an episode ever, Rent Controlled also features tello’s “first ever lesbian dance mob”.

The development of Heather is also a fantastic reason to watch. As mentioned, you really do feel for her (even though episodes are around seven minutes long) simply because you’ve been there, done that and can either find the humour in your adult mishaps or you’re looking for a bit of hope.

No matter where you fall on that scale, Rent Controlled is a great pick me up and is one of those binge watch-y type of shows (like OITNB on Netflix) that you’ll want to marathon and then watch all over again just to relive the giggles. Head over to the Tello Film’s website to find out how to watch it.