Indie Spotlight: ‘Millions’ Is A Gripping Passion Project

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. 

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal.

It is extremely difficult to create a worthwhile drama series on the web. Online audiences prefer short, snackable content that enhances moods and flies along at a brisk pace, a description that leans toward comedy. On Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, hundreds of TV dramas are available on demand, each one featuring the best actors, editors, and directors money can buy.

How, then, can filmmakers create a series that commands viewer attention without sacrificing production quality or pacing? Millions provides a masterclass. The recently-launched web series about a group of Asian-North American friends hoping to strike it big is not just its creator’s passion project; it’s a drama web series of outstanding quality.

Creator Andrew Chung has worked on Millions for four years. It began in 2010 as an $8,000 Kickstarter campaign, which funded the pilot. Three years later, that pilot arrived at the New York Television Festival, where we noted it as one of the competition’s most impressive entries. The completed series is now seeing release on YouTube; four episodes have arrived thus far.

Millions follows its main characters, all portrayed by Asian-North American actors, as they try to recover from a tragedy by becoming rich and earning a million dollars. The first episode, split across two parts, is a marvelous debut. The sound editing, cinematography, and cast are all superlative, and Chung’s passion is evident throughout.

It’s a shame that Millions has thus far only garnered a few thousand views. It’s a web drama of the utmost quality–go give it some love.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Charles, By The Way. Each bite-sized episode of this web series follow the titular lead as he tries (and fails) to pick up girls in his favorite coffee shop.
• An Actor Unprepared. This web series follows an aspiring actor who is even lonelier, unluckier, and poorer than the typical lonely, unlucky, and poor aspiring actor.
• The Adventures of Suzy Boon. An immigration official with an attitude grapples with her future during the last week of her job’s “trial period.”
• The Curious Parent. An expectant couple hosts this web series about the science of parenthood.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal. Tongal is changing the way creative work gets done, by making it accessible to people everywhere. For brands, studios, and causes, Tongal’s innovative platform provides continuous access to a global network of creatives, offering fresh ideas and insights, and top filmmaking talent to bring them to life. Tongal’s collaborative, merit-driven process enables everyone to focus on the work they do best. The result is outstanding content delivered with great speed and efficiency. Tongal is based in Santa Monica, California.