Indie Spotlight: In ‘Human Resources,’ Office Tedium Becomes Not Safe For Work

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.

By now, if you’ve paid close attention to this column over the past couple of years, you’ve seen plenty of web series whose protagonists are juggling mundane day-to-day jobs and the pursuit of their passions. Human Resources is a fun spin on that conceit. Molly Brenner‘s series tells the story of a savvy HR director named Molly who moonlights as a porn screenwriter.

The episodes of Brenner’s semi-sexy tale follow a basic skeleton: They begin with Molly on the phone discussing the latest twist in her porn-writing career. After a few quick jokes, Molly meets with one of her company’s employees and addresses their respective quirks. Finally, in the last scene of each installment, we see how the odd conversation we witnessed works itself into Molly’s NSFW hobby.

The first episode of Human Resources features Marshall Stratton, who is one-half of the excellent comedy duo Coker & Stratton.

Human Resources is a simple and effective show. The jokes come easily and plenty of them land. For the sheer ingenuity of Brenner’s premise alone, the four episodes of Human Resources that are available on YouTube are worth checking out.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Filth City. This Canadian crime thriller was a big winner at the recent Stareable Fest.
• Tipping Point. This series about two jaded waitresses is due out August 6.
• Don’t Suck. A chronic masturbator struggles to kick the habit and make a name for himself.

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.t