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.
How do you spice up a comedy web series about an odd couple who move in together? Add in some gay Hobbit sex. One True Pairing, from creator Laura Jordan, explores the friendship between a middle-aged divorcee and a teenage former child star through the lens of Hobbit slash fiction.
One True Pairing‘s main characters are Sheila, portrayed by Jordan, and Jeremy, played by Peter Graham. Before the beginning of the series’ timeline, Sheila and Jeremy become friends based on their shared interest in steamy fan fiction. Each episode opens with a hilariously explicit excerpt from Sheila’s writing; she shows a particular fondness for the pairing of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield.
Slash fiction makes up One True Pairing‘s roots, but at its core, it is a simple story about two friends who hail from completely different worlds. Age-wise, Sheila and Jeremy are separated by several decades, but as the series begins, they both find themselves at crossroads in their respective lives, and that makes them perfect matches for one another. When you add in the chemistry of the two leads and a fun script filled with banter, you get a charming series that is refreshingly down-to-earth. Check out the three episodes available on YouTube.
OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT
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.
Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends,…
The MacTaggart Lecture, hosted each year at the Edinburgh TV Festival, is one of the…
Netflix is spending freely to bring some of YouTube's top channels into its library, prompting…
If you thought the KPop Demon Hunters bonanza of 2025 represented the peak of Korean culture…
Creator agencies are helping brands navigate the nascent field of answer engine optimization (AEO). The latest companies…
In his 2026 letter to creators, CEO Neal Mohan said YouTube is "focused on" making…