‘Anyone But Me’ Director Finds Drama in ‘Good People in Love’

A new series from Streamy Award-Nominee Tina Cesa Ward (who, along with Susan Miller, brought you the hit independent drama web series Anyone But Me) explores the concept of commitment and marriage on the day New York passed the Equal Marriage Bill.

Good People in Love focuses on two couples, one heterosexual and one homosexual, to explore the challenges and fears of being in a committed relationship. Two characters, Sarah (Streamy Award Winner Rachael Hip-Flores) and Scott (Jesse Wakeman), use the two couples and the idiosyncrasies of their relationships to prove their different points of view during a small engagement party.

“I think with six very distinct characters that all have their own fears, ambitions and ideas about love and marriage the audience should find someone to connect with and recognize the situations these couples face on a personal level,” said Tina Cesa Ward over email.

To say the series is high on dramatic tension would be an understatement, as the characters fears and issues clash and the engagement party takes an ugly turn. Good People in Love

goes for the jugular right off the bat, rarely showing any niceties. When discussing their different points of view to one another, Scott and Sarah at times talk directly to the audience. Breaking the fourth wall is a risky tactic and it will be up to each individual viewer to decide if it works, but Ward is trying to make a statement designed to engage the audience.

Good People in Love was a challenge for Ward, who decided to try a different kind of project after Anyone But Me. “There’s always a great debate in the web industry in regards to budget.  I have colleagues that have been telling me you can make projects for practically nothing,” said Ward when discussing the challenges she faced during production. “I’ve never really believed them honestly, but I decided to put that idea to the test.”

With a smaller budget comes compromises, but Good People in Love is a solid show that fans of dramatic web series will enjoy. Ward does take some chances in how she attempts to speak to her viewers and experiments with other visual elements both inside and outside that fourth wall, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

If you are a fan of Anyone But Me, or just want a new series to watch, check out Good People in Love at Blip.tv.