‘Anyone But Me,’ ‘Downsized’ Debut New Seasons

It’s a big week in the Big Apple for the web series world. At least two New York City-based independent productions debuted their sophomore or junior seasons in the past two days.

Here’s a look at the premieres and what fans can expect from the next chapters in a teenage “coming of age story in a post 9/11 world” and a “dramedy about the extremes people go to when faced with an economic crash.”

Anyone But Me

Anyone But Me returned for its third season by way of an exclusive online premiere on Monday, thanks to a more than successful web-a-thon and a helluva lot of fans with cash to give and wishes for creators Susan Miller and Tina Cesa Ward to continue the storyline.

Rachael Hip-Flores (aka Vivian) and Nicole Pacent (aka Ester) womanned live chats on both coasts before and after the episode debuted, interacting and answering questions with at least 5,000 individuals who caught the live premiere. Since then, the first episode has racked up over 46,000+ views and counting, which makes for a total of 550,000 views in the last 30 days for Anyone But Me episodes on Blip and YouTube.

The new season is slated to last five episodes, with more in the works if Miller and Ward are able to wrangle sponsors. So, what can fans expect from another half dozen or so installments from Anyone But Me? “Playing with time,” Miller tells me, “New faces. Challenges and changes as characters are one year older, and locations never seen on the show before.”

Like what you see? Be sure to show your support here by voting Anyone But Me for Best Drama in the Webby’s People’s Voice Award.

Downsized

Daryn Strauss wrote, directed, produced (along with Maitely Weismann and Scott Napolitano), and stars in this web series that sheds light and a few laughs on how living in a post-recession world in the 29th most expensive city on the planet can affect one’s self and one’s relationships.

The program dropped its Season 2 debut on Tuesday night at what I hear was a rockin’ premiere party in NYC. It’s the first web series of hopefully many from Strauss and her online community DigitalChickTV, which she created to “raise awareness for quality content by and for women in digital media.”

What can fans expect in the second season of Downsized? “This season shifts the focus from the work environment to the home environment, so the new season will deal with the absurd complications that happen in relationships during changes in finances,” Strauss told me, “You’ll see more focus on the couples.”

Like what you see? Feel free to donate to Downsized to ensure the series gets to a Season 3.