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There’s only about a half dozen shows on TV that I like. Which means when I want a visual media fix, I usually turn to movies. However, movies are a real investment in time… 90 minutes while wanting to unwind before falling asleep is impossible. Which left me with a decision, watch crappy shows or find something else to watch… thus I turned to YouTube. YouTube for a while now has been the place I go to to watch great content that I really don’t have to worry too much about if it’s going to be good or not. Anything under 10 minutes is going to have at least something decent, and if not, it’s not a huge loss. And then I got into web series, and needless to say I got hooked. In the last year or so there’s been about 20 or 30 great web series that I watched consistently and every time I show people, they instantly are hooked. If you haven’t watched any before, you’re in for a treat because I’ve picked out the best CURRENT web series in a variety of genres! From comedy, to horror, to sci-fi, action and political… here is what you need to be watching!
VGHS caters to the gamer nerd in all of us! It’s an action comedy (albeit hokey comedy), with a great line up of characters including a current crush, Johanna Braddy and Zachary Levi (From Chuck). It also features Epic Meal Time’s Harley Morenstein as the school principal and some other cameos. Created by Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch, it’s really creative and the special effects are fantastic! 9 Episodes total.
When an unexplained event wipes out the majority of the human race, the survivors are thrown into a chaotic world where survival is the name of the game. This series is just about to start, and I think it looks fairly good. It’s been generating a lot of buzz online, so I’m hoping it delivers. Entirely funded via Kickstarter, the web series is sure to show what people are capable of with an idea, passion, and just a little bit of money. I’m hoping this will be great.
Husbands actually started late last year but is going into it’s second season soon. It’s the world’s first marriage equality comedy centering around two gay men, Cheeks and his no-longer-closeted boyfriend Brady as they wake up hungover and married in Vegas. The episodes are very short (under 3 minutes), but the writing and directing team is fantastic, with members having credits on Will and Grace, Friends, Buffy, Game of Thrones, Torchwood and more! It’s actually really funny and they pack in a lot in that short time.
Sync is an science fiction-action web series set in 2025. With the hero being the first computerized human with incredible intelligence, the threat of self awareness will always play a role. Its very gritty, and very good at keeping you entertained. My only complaint is the posting timeline – they post one episode a month, but they are a good 10 minutes each. With 4 episodes now posted, you can get a nice long fix of Sync while you wait for the next episode to be delivered!
Burning Love is for the reality TV/Bachelor fans. It’s a comedy/parody of shows like The Bachelor, but is clearly done with some love, and a ton of laughs. It’s actually produced by Ben Stiller and stars Ken Marino as the bachelor, a firefighter looking for his soulmate who isn’t afraid of robots. Also tons of cameos include Ken Jeong (Mr Chow from The Hangover), Kristen Bell and tons more! The series is 5 episodes in and is really good. I’m a little surprised that with the names attached to the project it’s not getting more attention. But it’s fantastic!
Event Zero has now been fully released, but only just recently (has under 1000 views!). It’s a drama-horror web series which connects the lives of seven different people caught in an event bigger than their lives. A train derailment sets off an event – Event Zero, which is about to change the world… and it ain’t gonna be pretty! It’s a really cool series and I definitely think most people will enjoy it. Visual effects are lacking, but the story does not.
The Council is a political web series… well sort of. It follows three different 8th graders as they go through the process of getting on to student council. The editing is incredible, the interviews are flawless and the production is perfect. The unfortunate part is the entire series is only 3 episodes, (3 minutes each). But the entire project was release in April, so you can view it in it’s entirety now!
A 4 episode dramedy filmed here in the GTA is about to launch. It looks to be a very well done web series that from the teaser could be pretty enjoyable! The series by independent filmmaker Miguel Barbosa is PG rated, and follows a group of teenagers in the days after prom. The summer before university/college is all about change. Oh, and he managed to make Oakville look like total paradise!
Zach, try Out With Dad. It's a local web series about a teenage girl and her single father who raised her coming to grips with the fact that she's gay. Funny and sensitively written, it gets bonus marks for a score by my friend @Adrian_Ellis and the occasional song by @LateJuly (Although that isn't why I'm recommending it.) You can find the series here: http://www.youtube.com/outwithdad
Copyright 2012 - Zach Bussey
