BENCHMARKS, a show about benches and the people who sit on them, now streaming on Youtube, Blip.tv and on various other platforms.

You never know who you’ll meet on a bench. In the new comedy web series BENCHMARKS, created by Lindsey Arnold and Laura Black, actors Jane Hadjuk (wife of Tim Allen, star of HOME IMPROVEMENT), Mark Slater, Jesse Torrilhon, Joseph Beck and Aric Martin each play various roles in each episode of the series, which debuted in December.

BENCHMARKS was originally developed as a comedy revolving around therapy sessions, but when Lisa Kudrow (FRIENDS) brought her show “Web Therapy” to the Showtime cable network, Arnold and Black retooled their concept completely: “In our show, the bench is either instrumental or incidental in the plot – but there is a bench in every show,” says Black, who, along with Arnold, wanted to create a show where viewers who missed previous episodes didn’t have to worry about playing catch-up, something that sets the show apart from many other comedy web series, Black says. “All the episodes are self-contained and mostly comedies. The possibilities are endless because there are benches everywhere in the world so no matter where you are, a story unfolds. Have a seat.”

The show’s brand of humor also makes BENCHMARKS unique from many other comedy web series. “We also feel that the humor is clever and requires a tiny bit more work than just another cute baby/puppy/kitten/fat butt falling/swinging/crying/singing to get the laughs. We don’t rule out the aforementioned by any means and find that humor funny, but we will always strive to add a tiny bit more intelligent humor to the storytelling,” Black says.

A few of our great Benchmarks team at our world premiere at the Action On Film festival: DP Damien Nemiere-Pepe, Cast: Aric Martin and Jesse Torrilhon, Producer/Graphic Designer: Lindsey Arnold, Writer/Director Laura Black, and Cast: Mark Slater and Joseph Beck. ~ via Facebook

Each episode was filmed on a green screen stage, with as many as four episodes being filmed in a day, and the experience proved to be rewarding for both cast and crew. “The actors were game for anything – they were hysterical. It really helped that we were very organized ahead of time; we didn’t want to waste any time on the set. The post was a beast from the editing, sound, compositing, etc., We worked like crazy to get the episodes finished and we are very happy with the results.” Arnold and Black each wore many hats in the show’s production. Black wrote, directed and edited each episode, along with post-production sound design, while Arnold produced each episode, and created the show’s graphic design, in addition to graphic compositing.

Both Black and Arnold have major ambitions for BENCHMARKS, from financial partnerships with Youtube, to increased viewer interaction through social media, to filming on-location, and even being picked up by a network. Yet, their main goal is to deliver sophisticated, ground-breaking comedy that doesn’t rely on lowbrow humor, in an episodic format that’s easy for viewers to follow. “If, given a scenario where you may not be able to escape from, what would you do? Sort of Saturday Night Live meets College Humor with Funny or Die thrown in. We designed it so you don’t have to watch them in order (unlike a serial) but try to maintain a tone where we use satire, absurd scenarios and humor that isn’t quite in your face but still remains funny, hopefully.

YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/benchmarkseries

BLIP.tv: www.blip.tv/benchmarkseries

METACAFE: www.metacafe.com/channels/Benchmarks

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/benchmarkseries

TWITTER: @Benchmarkseries

The show’s official website, plus its Google+ and Tumblr pages, will each be launched soon.