For anyone who’s ever been in a romantic relationship, there’s nothing worse than getting dumped. Some people break up once. Others break up twice. A few have ended up falling out of love many times over. However, what would it be like if you were the one who did all the dumping? What would you do, and how far would you go to win back the love of everyone you ever tossed aside? That’s the challenge facing Jody, the main protagonist/jilted lover of the comedy web series HELL FROZE OVER, which premiered its second season of all nine episodes (more on that later) on its official web site (which also doubles as a link to its Youtube page) on October 1st.

Written, directed and created by J. Wilder Konschak, and co-written by Stirling McLaughlin and series producer/co-star Alli Hartley, HELL FROZE OVER stars Tracy Clifton (from the upcoming horror film KillCam Live) as Jody, a young woman who embarks on a mission to improve not only her love life but also her very existence as a whole by returning to her hometown, where she dates everyone she’s ever been in a relationship with – and broke up with. Standing in her way is her straight-laced roommate Brooke (Diana Toshiko of HORRIBLE BOSSES and the indie horror/comedy film BAD MILO), who seeks to stop Jody from accomplishing her goal by hitting the open road with the mysterious co-tenant Jesus (Alden Ray), a guy with his own series of wacky idiosyncrasies known mostly to him, aside from his multiple copies of the 1985 Mel Brooks sci-fi spoof SPACEBALLS and his turtle tattoo.

HELL FROZE OVER won both audiences and the “Outside The Box” award at the 2009 New York Television Festival. After a successful first season that achieved over 100,000 views on its Youtube page, Konschak and his production team were motivated to continue the series – but with an entirely new approach. “We tried to come up with a fresh concept that would challenge the team and the audience. Ultimately, we decided to focus on the main character’s back story and follow her to her hometown. The bulk of the second season was written by L.A. based writer/director Jason Wilder Konschak and Chicago based comedy writer Stirling McLaughlin. Series producer (and cast member!) Alli Hartley also co-wrote several episodes,” the show’s creators say.

Viewers can expect much more than hilarious comedy in season 2 of HELL FROZE OVER. “Season 2 involves true love, serial killers, demonic possession, police brutality, and what can best be described as a McBackAlleyAbortion,” they say. They can also expect new additions to the show’s ensemble cast, primarily the oddball Jesus (Ray), who lives in the same building as Brooke – and who joins her on her road trip to stop Jody from accomplishing her goal of making amends with all the guys she’s loved before. “Diana Toshiko (Brooke) recommended several very talented actors who came in for initial cold readings, including Alden Ray (Jesus). The script originally refers to Jesus as The Turtle Man, and we knew we wanted the actor playing Jesus to have a turtle tattoo so that the audience would recognize him immediately. We assumed we’d have to draw a fake turtle tattoo on whomever we ended up casting, but Alden showed up and already had a tattoo of a turtle on his arm, and then proceeded to nail the part. That was a nice ‘kismet’ kind of moment.”

The world of television, and especially its means of content distribution, has changed forever as a result of Netflix and its Emmy-nominated breakthrough HOUSE OF CARDS. All 13 episodes of the political drama series, adapted from the British version of the same name, not only won critical acclaim, but also popularized the term “binge watching”. It’s an approach to distribution that played a key role in the rollout of HELL FROZE OVER’s sophomore season, and also changed the series’ overall approach to its storytelling.

“Netflix and House of Cards specifically have really changed the way people view content online. The ability to binge-watch something is not only more expected, but it really helped us tell our story. We didn’t want to go back and do more of the same; we wanted to challenge ourselves to make something with a cumulative effect,” says the show’s creators, who explain: “Season one was more sitcom-like. Each episode was very much self-contained, exploring different takes on the same situation. With season 2, the story that we start telling in episode 1 is still playing itself out in episode 9. It’s much more cinematic in a sense. And the entire season is less than an hour long, so why not watch it all at once?”

Just as the show’s storytelling approach changed between the first and second season, so did the production process. As the show’s creators explain: “Season 1 was shot split between NYC and LA, with the roommate sections and a few of the dates in Los Angeles, but the bulk of the dates in New York City. We shot the pilot, then a couple more episodes, and then the rest of the 10-episode season. It was shot in SD with a DVX100a, and edited as we went, one episode per week. Season 2 was shot entirely in Los Angeles in a single shooting period, which took approximately 8 shoot days. It was shot in HD on a Canon T2i Rebel DSLR. Originally intended as 5 large episodes, during post production we decided to re-imagine the sequencing and create 9 shorter episodes. The real intention was to have them play well back-to-back.”

According to its creators, HELL FROZE OVER may be unlike any web series ever devoted to the world of dating, and all the ups and downs that come with being in love as seen through the eyes of a young woman who tries to fall in love again…and again…“There are many web series about dating. Few of them, however, involve murder, hysterical pregnancies, talking tumors, and demonic porn-studio-possessions. HELL FROZE OVER has all of those things, and an ‘80s style music video sung by a dead man with a girly first name. Plus, it has a distinct, edgy, and strange comic voice, and tells a wild story.”

(Note: The series is not currently closed-captioned, and the show’s creators say there are no plans to do so as of now.)

 

ON THE WEB: www.hellfrozeover.tv (also links to its Youtube page)

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/HellFrozeOverSeason1

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hell-Froze-Over/248136911922037

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HellFrozeOver