Indie Spotlight: Free Spirits Provide A Lively Dose Of ‘Southern Comfort’

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.

If you’re sick of slice-of-life web comedies set in New York or Los Angeles, you may want to get your hands on some Southern Comfort. That’s the name of the new Tennessee-set series from Kristen Ballard and Malorie Cunningham, who are known collectively as Dolly Partners Comedy.

In the premiere episode of Southern Comfort, heroines Avery (Ballard) and Rae (Cunningham) agree to leave their husbands in order to live as liberated twenty-something women. That decision leaves them with lots of anxiety, but it also gives Ballard and Cunningham plenty of space to crack regionally-appropriate jokes about topics like deer, manners, and, most of all, pumpkins.

Ballard and Cunningham met at the University of Tennessee, and their passion for Southern culture is evident throughout their web series. More than that, though, it’s a funny show led by two performers whose chemistry with one another informs lively, well-paced episodes. Check it out on YouTube.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margot. A former Nickelodeon star is the leading figure in a new series.
• Babe and Bave. A foodie couple argues about what to eat for dinner.
• Sam And Pat Are Depressed. Can two sad roommates help each other cope?

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.