Since the rise of television, there have always been sitcoms, with their own set of wacky characters in hilarious situations – but have you ever heard of a ‘sipcom’? UP THE CREEK, currently airing on Blip.TV, may well be the first sitcom that viewers can not only enjoy in a short period of time, but also while sipping their favorite adult beverage, be it beer, or, in the case of the series itself, fine wine. Debuting on March 28, 2012 with its first season of 7 episodes, the second season launched on July 12th, 2013 with its eighth episode, and a ninth, featuring a special musical number written by Mike Trippiedi (who plays the vineyard’s manager/resident conspiracy theorist Major Tom), is currently in production.

Created by Joe Taylor, whose real life experience owning an actual vineyard (Sleepy Creek Vineyards, located in Central Illinois and also where the series is filmed) played a key role in the development of the series (more on that later), UP THE CREEK follows the adventures of a motley crew of winemakers who try to keep a family-owned vineyard going after its matriarch (played by Gladys Kephart, the real life mother of Bill Kephart, who plays her stepson, Rusty, in the series) retires, leaving the cash-strapped winery in the hands of her son, Grant (played by Mike Boedicker), a failed Wall Street hot shot who takes over the family business, giving him full control of the winery in every aspect but one – he can’t fire the employees. It’s a dysfunctional staff that includes the vineyard’s often shirtless head groundskeeper (played by Thomas Nicol), the ‘not from around here’ winemaker Antonio (Matt Hester), plus wine tasters Vayla (Kayla Johnson) and Branson (Tim Meyers), and marketing chief/Canadian Veroniqua (Julia Megan Sullivan).

Taylor’s experience working in, and owning a winery, along with his background in filmmaking, provided both him and Bill Kephart (who worked together at Sleepy Creek) with ample inspiration to create the series. “He (Kephart) was helping us during our harvest season and we would kick around ideas for videos between press runs. Bill and I had worked together on humor based videos for various on-line contests, as well as films and plays. We had some success with these video contests and had sold spots to Snickers (the candy bar), La Quinta Hotels and Simple Green (the cleaning product),” Taylor says.

Both men set out to create a sitcom that not only takes place in an often romanticized setting – the wine business – but also to showcase the emerging film industry in Central Illinois, and its talented performers. “We’re in a rural area (central Illinois) but there is a lot of talent here and a very active filmmaking community. We (the cast) all met through various projects, but we really enjoy coming together a few nights every month to work on the series. That’s the beauty of a 5-8 minute episode, (where) you get to have fun, but (you don’t) have to work on it so much (that) it wears you down,” he says.

The show’s production process, as Taylor explains, was truly a team effort, even though there were challenges. “All of the cast contributes to the stories, then a few of us will sit together and get the final script locked down. Each episode usually takes two to three evenings to shoot, and then about a week or two to edit and get things posted on line. I am usually the camera man, director and editor. Probably our biggest challenge is getting the full cast together at one time, everyone is very active in the local theater and filmmaking scene, so we have to work around those schedules.”

Even the show’s approach to its humor sets UP THE CREEK apart from many other comedies – both currently made for TV and the web. “Our winery is not your typical snooty winery. We like to have fun and goof around.  We were sick of beer having all the fun. We had wanted to do something episodic where we would have a cast of characters. The winery was a logical setting since many sitcoms were based around a business setting. We wanted it to be a little old school and goofy, like a ‘Gilligan’s Island’, (or) a ’70s sitcom that we had grown up with, only for adults and with drinking.  We call it a “sipcom” – a shorter version of a sitcom, usually made funnier with the consumption of adult beverages,” Taylor says.

In keeping with the vintage sitcom style, each episode has a laugh track, and while the show’s creators considered removing it, the fact that the show’s audience (especially overseas) continues to grow may preclude them from making that decision. A key factor in the show’s growth is its presence on Blip.tv, and it’s provided Taylor, and his cast and crew, with its own unique set of benefits. “I think we caught them at just the right time and they did some promoting the show for us. We had a big run on views last winter, shooting us up to just over 5.6 million across the 7 episodes we had up at the time. The nice thing is that they paid us for the advertising on those views which gave us a decent budget for this year. It feels really good to be able to pay your actors,” he says.

UP THE CREEK is unlike any other workplace comedy made for TV or the web, one that portrays the lighter side of an otherwise staid and conservative business. For Taylor, working with a great ensemble cast has made his experience, like fine wine, all the sweeter. “I feel really fortunate to be able to work with such a talented group. I think we will keep doing it as long as it is fun. The reality of schedules and the fact that we all have to make a living will probably limit us to five to seven episodes a year plus some shot “extra” material. I want to focus on production quality a bit more this year. The actors do such a great job, (and) I need to make sure I hold up my end of the bargain,” Taylor says.

(Note: while the show is not currently closed-captioned or subtitled for foreign audiences, it may be at some point in the future).

BLIP.tv: http://blip.tv/upthecreek

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