Indie Spotlight: ‘LA Picker’ Chronicles A Tchotchke War

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.

Sometimes, all that’s required for an enjoyable web series are a clever premise and round characters. That’s certainly the case with Elizabeth Yarwood‘s LA Picker, which chronicles the war between two rival online resellers.

The protagonist of LA Picker is Sally, portrayed by Devin Sidell, and she loves stuff. Sally is a “picker,” which means she goes to estate sales and thrift shops in search of unwanted items she can touch up and resell on eBay (or, in the fictional world of the show, Mibay). Sally’s attempts to dominate the L.A. picker scene are thwarted by a rival named Jonathan, played by Scott Epstein. Jonathan will stop at nothing to throw Sally off her game. In the premiere, he arrives at a sale minutes before she does. In the second episode, he starts posting phony reviews on her Mibay page so that potential buyers won’t trust her. As the episodes come on, Sally and Jonathan’s all-out war becomes even more ridiculous.

What makes LA Picker great is the subtle ways in which Sally and Jonathan display their utter contempt for each other. Sidell’s high-energy performance pairs well with Epstein’s more subdued take, and as a result, their on-screen conversations have a great tempo to them. Add in a witty script, and you have a winning web series. Ten episodes of LA Picker are available on its YouTube channel.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• All Good Things. Six different filmmakers have created shorts in which they reveal things they wish they had said to exes.
• Sorry, Ari. A man experiences a string of bad luck in this well-shot series.
• The You & Me. Two gay men reconnect in a spiritual manner.

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.