We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.
A new web series produced by Park Triangle Productions follows a troubled young woman who discovers it’s not so easy to be free-spirited and easygoing. It’s called No Strings, Please, and it uses Washington, DC as the backdrop for an exploration of the difficulties of life in the city.
No Strings, Please stars Naima Ramos-Champan as Charley Parker (no, not that one), a fiercely independent heroine who uproots herself from her childhood home in Brooklyn to take a new job in the District. The first time we meet Parker, she gets a tattoo of the letters NS, which stands for ‘no strings’ and echoes her girl power personality.
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Unfortunately, though Charley would probably say she doesn’t need anyone else’s, the first episode of the series reveals she is directionless, somewhat paranoid, secretly kinky, and a bit of an alcoholic. Meanwhile, her friend Megan (Ann Turiano) has her own litany of problems, which are revealed in a darkly humorous conversation between the two leads.
No Strings, Please is the creation of filmmaker Gemal Woods, and he explains that while producing the series was a struggle, he believes the result is of superlative quality. “Budget was a huge challenge; we were on a shoestring but determined to complete the project to the vision,” he explained. “No Strings, Please is special because of the cinematic quality and quixotic situational humor that differs from the simple slapstick qualities that most comedy-drama series display.”
Woods is confident, and for good reason; his characters are unique and interesting, and as new episodes are released, I’m excited to get to know them better.
OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT:
- Dentally Challenged. Sketch comedy channel Awkward Universe is the home of this comedy about a deadbeat dentist and less-than-professional employees.
- Jill and Jenny. Two aimless and somewhat awkward women try to make an odd couple roommate pairing work.
- Long Story, Short. This series, soon debut in full on Kolcast, follows a twentysomething and her friends as they attempt to find themselves.
- Dirty and Thirty. The latest effort from this comedy group tells guys what they have to do if they want to get laid.
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