Fund This: ‘I ? NY’ Offers “Love-Hate Relationship With The City”

Welcome to Fund This, a new column here at Tubefilter. Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any other similar crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

Project Name: I ? NY

Asking For: $7,000 on Kickstarter

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $5,732

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 16

Description: I ? NY is a planned series that will feature rapid-fire sketches set within the city of New York. Its creators, Jackie Viscusi and Jeremy Parker, are stand-up comics who weave the character of their shared home city into their respective routines. With I ? NY, they hope to create a pilot that resembles Portlandia, but with an East Coast flair. Viscusi and Parker hope to pitch this pilot to TV networks, but the situations they outline in their pitch video–such as a party on a Brooklyn rooftop or an awkward Tinder date–sound familiar to viewers who watch a lot of independent web series

. “The name of the show is I ? NY because, as you all know, everyone has a love-hate relationship with the city,” said Parker.

Creator Bio: Viscusi and Parker met while they were both performing at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre, and they now co-host a comedy show called Funny Santos. They show off their sketch comedy skills with a Citibike-themed video released last year.

Best Perk: Anyone who makes a contribution of at least $10 will receive an I ? NY sticker. For New Yorkers, that reward provides the perfect counterpoint to tourists and their overpriced merchandise.

Why You Should Fund It: Viscusi and Parker have loads of experience between them, and that bodes well for their combined effort. I ? NY looks to feature a slightly quicker, snappier, and brasher style than the typical New York-centered sketch show, and those elements give its 25-minute pilot a chance to stand out from the pack. Consider, too, the campaign’s stretch goals: An extra thousand will improve hair, makeup, and wardrobe, $2,000 more after that will lend more resources to post-production, and another $990,000 after that “will highly improve our mental health.” No kidding.