Teenagers (web series)

teenagers
Created by
Directed by Mathew Murray
Starring
Composer(s) Spencer Creaghan
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 17
Production
Executive producer(s) T.J. Scott
Editor(s) Mathew Murray
Cinematography Dmitry Lopatin
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 10-15 minutes
Production company(s) Black Elephant Productions
External links
Official Twitter

Teenagers (often stylized as teenagers) is a Canadian web series written and directed by Mathew Murray and executive produced by T.J. Scott.

The series premiered on a dedicated YouTube channel on January 19, 2014. It features an ensemble cast that includes actress Chloe Rose as the main female protagonist.[1] Emmanuel Kabongo stars as the central male protagonist and co-produced the first season alongside Murray.[2] The series has been called "gritty" and "provocative,"[3] and focuses on issues such as teen angst, racism, violence and sexuality.[4]

As of March 2016, teenagers has been viewed over 5 million times online, amassing over 15,000 subscribers on YouTube.[5][6]

Plot

The series presents various storylines and characters in the form of vignettes. In season one, the central storylines revolve around Bree (played by Chloe Rose), who loses her virginity to someone with chlamydia, and T (played by Emmanuel Kabongo), who struggles with racism and bullying.[7] In its second season, the series focused more on LGBT characters and themes.[8][9]

Background

teenagers initially attracted media attention because its cast included several Degrassi stars, most notably Chloe Rose,[10][11] who went on to be nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series by the International Academy of Web Television for her role in the first season.[12]

Murray began working on the concept with Tamosauskas when they were both 19 and still in film school.[4] When interviewed about how the idea for the series came to fruition, Murray said:

We were inspired by the emotions we felt in High School, but we were also inspired by classic 80’s teen films like “Breakfast Club” and “Pretty In Pink,” and wanted to showcase those themes in a modernistic way... So many of the teen shows out there are censored, corny, and simply not very realistic. In reality, teenagers deal with everything from drugs to sex, they swear, they curse…[13]

The first season of the series was filmed in and around Toronto and Mississauga as an ACTRA Co-Op production on a shoe-string budget.[13]

Release

Season 1

Upon release, the series was voted #1 in the 'Indie Series Of The Week' poll by WeLoveSoaps.com users for the week of January 19 to 25, 2014.[14] It received positive reviews from blogs and indie publications,[15][16][17][18][19] and screened at festivals around the world,[20][21] winning awards at both the 2014 and 2015 Los Angeles Web Series Festival.[22] Susie Stone of culturestarved.com wrote: "I saw humans. Shattering and trembling, but at times so quiet and beautifully real. I saw short spurts of what is really happening in the teen world. This series is evocative, sweet, daring, and scary."[23]

The popular Canadian industry journal Playback published a piece on the series, writing: "the young creators of teenagers had to have plenty of luck, pluck, talent and grit to get this far. And that portends a Hollywood ending."[24]

Season 2

For the second season of the series, award-winning television director T.J. Scott served as executive producer.[25][26] The first episode of the second season premiered on July 26, 2015,[27] and has since been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube.[28] shedoesthecity.com wrote: "Unhindered by politics and the rules of big networks, teenagers pushes boundaries ... tackling tough themes like racial issues, violence, STDs, drug abuse and family heartache in a raw and real way, reminding us of the early years of Degrassi ... For a web series, the cinematography and post production is slick and impressive."

In 2016, the series was nominated for several awards.[29][30][31] Murray won the award for Best Screenplay at the Vancouver Web Series Festival[32] and Raymond Ablack won the Indie Series Award for Best Supporting Actor – Drama.[33][34] Kabongo was nominated for Best Performance in a Series Produced for Digital Media by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for his role in the second season.[35]

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominee(s) Result
2016
Indie Series Awards[36] Best Ensemble Main Cast Nominated
Best Lead Actress – Drama Chloe Rose Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Drama Raymond Ablack Won
Best Supporting Actress – Drama Allyson Pratt Nominated
Vancouver Web Series Festival[37]
Best Drama Series Mathew Murray Nominated
Best Screenplay Mathew Murray

Garrett Hnatiuk

 Won
Best Actress Chloe Rose Nominated
Canadian Screen Awards[35] Best Performance in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media Emmanuel Kabongo Nominated
2015 International Academy of Web Television[12] Best Female Performance in a Drama Chloe Rose Nominated
Los Angeles Web Series Festival[38] Outstanding Drama Series Mathew Murray

Sara Tamosauskas

Dmitry Lopatin

 Won
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series Mathew Murray

Garrett Hnatiuk

 Nominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Chloe Rose Nominated
2014 Los Angeles Web Series Festival[39] Outstanding Sound Design Andy Kloske Won
Outstanding Drama Series Mathew Murray

Sara Tamosauskas

Emmanuel Kabongo

 Won
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series Mathew Murray

Sara Tamosauskas

 Won

References

  1. ↑ "Chloe Rose & Ray Ablack Team Up For "Teenagers" Web Series". Kary's Degrassi Blog. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  2. ↑ "Teenagers Web Series | Watch News Videos Online". Global News. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  3. ↑ "Sex, drugs & violence: Toronto's provocative Web Series "Teenagers" returns for Season Two". Shedoesthecity. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  4. 1 2 "New webseries shines spotlight on real-life teen experience - Urbanology Magazine". Urbanology Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpakh6I-DAAkUYSkQVZIig
  6. ↑ "maddygtv". maddygtv. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  7. ↑ "teenagers web series – Kary's Degrassi Blog". degrassiblog.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. ↑ "Search | Lesbian Media". lesbianmedia.tv. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  9. ↑ "Sex, drugs & violence: Toronto's provocative Web Series "Teenagers" returns for Season Two". Shedoesthecity. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  10. ↑ "1 LOVE T.O. » "Teenagers" Web Series". 1loveto.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  11. ↑ "Cityonmyback.com » VIDEO: Teenagers Web Series (Teaser + Premiere Info)". cityonmyback.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  12. 1 2 http://www.iawtv.org/2015-iawtv-award-nominees/
  13. 1 2 "An Inside Look At "TEENAGERS" the Web Series | The Spidvid Blog". spidvid.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  14. ↑ http://www.welovesoaps.net/2014/01/indie-series-of-week-results-january-19.html
  15. ↑ "AS IF BEING A TEENAGER WAS EVER EASY : Teenagers Webseries | Starved Magazine". www.culturestarved.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  16. ↑ "Teenagers Web Series Episode 1 (Video & Review)". Kary's Degrassi Blog. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  17. ↑ "Interview : Iscreammusic with the cast of 'Teenagers' | The Iscream". www.theiscream.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  18. ↑ "Teenagers Web Series: Episode 8 (Video & Review)". Kary's Degrassi Blog. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  19. ↑ "Teenagers Web Series – Season 1". CITYONCLOUDS. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  20. ↑ "Korean Web Fest Selections 2015".
  21. ↑ "T.O. Web Fest 2014 Winners & Nominees".
  22. ↑ "Roma Web Fest | 2014 LAWEBFEST LIST OF AWARD-WINNING SHOW". Romawebfest.it (in Italian). 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  23. ↑ "AS IF BEING A TEENAGER WAS EVER EASY : Teenagers Webseries | Starved Magazine". www.culturestarved.com. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  24. ↑ http://playbackonline.ca/2014/01/15/new-web-series-teenagers-attracts-degrassi-alum/
  25. ↑ 25, Julianna Cummins February. "Canadian Screen Awards ’15: Orphan Black, Degrassi clone winning ways". Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  26. ↑ "T.J. Scott". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  27. ↑ "Sex, drugs & violence: Toronto's provocative Web Series "Teenagers" returns for Season Two". Shedoesthecity. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  28. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46lEpsZv5vA
  29. ↑ "Indie Series Awards: Nominations Announced For 7th Annual ISAs". www.indieseriesawards.com. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  30. ↑ "Vancouver Web Fest". www.vancouverwebfest.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  31. ↑ "7 reasons you should care about the Canadian Screen Awards this year". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  32. ↑ 23, Julianna Cummins March; 2016. "Riftworld, Sudden Master win at Vancouver Web Fest". Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  33. ↑ "Indie Series Awards: 7th Annual Indie Series Awards Winners". Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  34. ↑ "Serial Scoop: WINNERS: 7th Annual Indie Series Awards". www.serialscoop.com. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  35. 1 2 http://www.academy.ca/Canadian-Screen-Awards/2016-Nominees-Winners/Digital-Media
  36. ↑ http://www.indieseriesawards.com/2016/02/nominations-announced-for-7th-annual.html
  37. ↑ http://www.vancouverwebfest.com/index.html
  38. ↑ http://www.lawebfest.com
  39. ↑ http://www.romawebfest.it/losangeles/2014-lawebfest-list-of-award-winning-show/

External links

See also

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