Cleaning up the messes we and other people leave behind is, as we all know, a very dirty job. For those who choose to give professionals the thankless task of returning a house to its previously squeaky clean state, that job can come with all kinds of unpredictable moments – both on the job and outside of it.
In season 1 of the acclaimed comedy web series THE CLEANISTS, a seemingly inept crew of house cleaners discovered that the job of making everything spotless again came with its own set of hilarious occupational hazards. Along the way, they each became entangled not just with the tedious nature of their jobs, but also with each other.
Now, those wacky misadventures in cleanliness continue in season 2 of the popular series, created by Tristram Baumber, streaming on its official Youtube page, and currently being broadcast in the U.K. and Ireland via Information TV (available through Sky and Freesat).
All 10 episodes of Season 2 of THE CLEANISTS feature the same great comedy and memorable characters within a compact frame (5 minute webisodes), but with interesting new faces alongside the show’s main cast, an expanded storyline and a greater level of production in each episode. (More on all that ahead.)
THE CLEANISTS stars James Chapman as Gregg and Shanon Kulupach as Libby. While they’re both working as part of a team of professional house cleaners under the watchful – and bossy – eyes of its de facto leader Magda (Gabriella Stevens), Gregg gradually develops romantic feelings for his co-worker Libby. Despite that, they struggle with Magda’s aggressive “leadership” tactics, and the often creepy nature of co-worker Philip (Craig Lindeman).
Recently, I talked to Baumber, plus cast members Chapman, Kulupach, Stevens and Lindeman about their experiences shooting season 2 of the popular comedy series, the overall growth of their characters, and what viewers can expect to see this season from the wacky clean-up crew.
In addition, they recounted the hilarious atmosphere on set as they filmed a special “extra” episode for the show’s successful season 2 crowd funding campaign (previously covered here), and the incredible reaction they’ve received from viewers who’ve watched THE CLEANISTS throughout the world – both online and on TV.
Without going into spoilers, what can viewers expect to see in season 2 of THE CLEANISTS?
Tristram Baumber: Viewers can expect a more ambitious show in Season 2 of The Cleanists. The stories are bigger. In Season 1 we had some episodes that just took place all in one room at one time. We don’t do that so much with Season 2. There’s a lot of action, and jumping from scene to scene.
One of the biggest challenges this time around was fitting so much into 5 minute episodes. There’s an even bigger story arc for Season 2 than there was for Season 1. On top of that, the show has a glossier look, better sound, better costume and production design. Our goal was to take every single thing from Season 1 and make it better in Season 2 – and hopefully we succeeded with that.
What can viewers expect to see from each of the characters throughout the season?
James Chapman: To the delight of many viewers, you can expect to see Gregg grow a bit of a backbone. He now relies on Libby as a source of confidence far less and even has a few friendly moments with Philip and Magda.
There’s also a new woman in his life, Celine, which has given him quite a confidence boost. He takes on a sort of leadership position in the Cleanists and goes out of his way to help not only Libby, but Magda get out of – and into – some sticky situations.
Shanon Kulupach: Without saying too much, Libby is under duress this season; she no longer has the upper hand. And strangely she needs the Cleanists! But why? Wait and see! A hint is that you’ll see two sides to Libby.
Gabriella Stevens: You’re going to see a few aspects to Magda you wouldn’t expect. She’s still the headstrong tyrannical boss you know and love, but she’s developing into an interesting character in other ways.
Craig Lindeman: The audience can expect much of the typical Philip in this series. He takes an interest in Gregg’s personal life again, especially his new girlfriend.
What new characters can viewers expect to see this season?
Tristram: We had an amazing supporting cast for Season 2. One new character is Celine, Gregg’s new girlfriend, played by Lauren Steggles. Celine is in more than one episode. Gregg can’t stop telling the other characters how ‘quirky’ and ‘amazing’ Celine is. Then there’s a character named Doctor Mike, played by Carl Young.
I can’t say too much about Doctor Mike without giving away Season 2’s plot. Let’s just say he’s connected to Libby’s return – and that Magda has eyes for him. Finally, there’s the mysterious Carmel, played by Hannah Bath. Carmel is all business, and she’s there for Philip, although she’s not his girlfriend. Or is she? I guess you’ll have to watch Season 2 to find out.
What was it like working on set in Season 1, and how did the production process change from Seasons 1 to 2?
James: Working on Season 1 was one of the best experiences of my life. One of the main reasons we wanted to do Season 2 was because of how much fun we had the first time. The four of us actors have a really good dynamic when the cameras are off and we love to make each other laugh.
Season 2 was a bit different as we shot more complex episodes over a very short amount of time. All core members of our crew were the same in Season 2: Tristram the director, Stephen Roberts the D.O.P. (director of photography) and Brayden Porter as an assistant director and associate producer. But we also had a much bigger crew than last time and it was really exciting working with new people.
Shanon: Season 1 was awesome! Aside from Craig not having a heater and us all getting sick we didn’t really have any major issues! It was the most fun set I have been involved in – until we did Season 2, of course!!
One thing that changed was the chemistry between all of us cast and crew. We are all great friends now as well as co-workers, so I think that shows through when you watch Season 2. Also Stephen our DOP upgraded a whole bunch of equipment so you all get to see Craig’s mug a bit clearer.
Gabriella: Season 1 was a lot of fun to film – a bit rushed and hectic at times. Filming two episodes per day became a bit exhausting, but the final product was worth it. I thought Season 2 was going to be easier because we had an extra day for the same number of episodes. But the episodes in Season 2 were more complicated, so it actually ended up being more challenging!
Craig: Working on season 1 was a blast and I loved it, however it was quite exhausting as we had a tight schedule to meet and had to fit a lot of filming into one day. It was hard work but worth it. Season 2 was even harder in a lot of ways, but we all knew what we were doing a little bit better this time around.
What was it like filming the mini-episode to make people aware of the crowd funding campaign?
James: It was like a small taste of what we could expect from Season 2. It was such a thrill coming back to each other after almost a year since filming. We had lots of time that day, which made it even more fun because we got to mess around and improvise some of the dialogue.
Shanon: It was like a reunion! We were even back at Craig’s house where we shot the first episode! Lucky for him, the weather was warmer, ha ha! I think it really showed that we had done it before. Our chemistry showed; we all understand our characters so much more. Things went quicker!
Gabriella: The mini-episode was super fun to film. It was great to be back with the cast again and doing what we love – playing the characters we adore.
Craig: Filming the mini-episode was fun. Tristram gave me a bit of leeway to work with a bit of improv which I enjoyed. It’s difficult to come up with weird Philip-isms between takes.
What was the production process like for all 10 episodes (from pre production to shooting)?
Tristram: We started shooting Season 2 of THE CLEANISTS less than 2 weeks after the end of our crowdfunding campaign. Pre-production started before we even knew if we were going to reach our funding goal. There was a lot of optimistic thinking there!
During pre-production I put a crew together, cast the supporting actors and locked in locations. As a director and producer on a small-budget project, most of the work falls directly onto my shoulders, so I was very happy to have a larger crew for Season 2 than we’d had for Season 1.
Having assistant directors freed me up to focus on working with the actors and the D.O.P., and I didn’t have to run around organizing the schedule and the food and coordinating makeup, which is what I had to do for Season 1. We shot the ten episodes over the course of six days.
It was basically two episodes a day, with an extra day on the end to catch up on some bits and pieces we hadn’t managed to shoot. It was a very tight schedule, involving early mornings and late nights.
I think everybody on our set ended up suffering from exhaustion in one way or another. Post-production took a few months. I was hoping to hire an editor this time around, but for the number of hours that needed to be put in, I just couldn’t find a good editor who would work for such cut-rate prices.
What is the production process like for you as actors?
James: We actors are very much kept in the loop during the production process. Whenever there is a tweak made to the script, we’re the first to know. Stephen and Brayden are also great with actors and it makes the production very relaxed for us – which is great considering the silly stuff we have to do.
Shanon: The whole process is a pretty well-oiled machine really. The crew does their thing and tell us actors where to go, but then we do our thing. Tristram does a great job at mediating the two!
Gabriella: The process for us as actors really is the easy bit: we film, we go home. The editing and post-production processes are the most time-consuming. It was great that we had the assistance of funds for Season 2. The filming was more professional and we had a bigger crew.
Craig: I had never worked on a film set before THE CLEANISTS, so these two seasons were a real eye opener as to what happens, not only in front of the camera, but behind the scenes. The crew worked incredibly well, with a huge amount of equipment I didn’t understand.
How have you responded to the reaction you’ve gotten to your work on THE CLEANISTS, and especially the fact that it’s airing on TV?
James: It’s incredible. The amount of positive feedback we got from friends and family as well as strangers on the very first day we uploaded the series was amazing. I still get shocked when I find out we have viewers in the U.S. and from all over Australia.
When Showcase TV put our series on their channel we were blown away. We started this project as a web series and we really didn’t have much ambition for it to be broadcast on TV, but now that it has, we have a lot of viewers coming from the U.K., and that’s awesome.
Shanon: It’s been so, so fun for me! I have been doing film for a few years now and this is by far the most well-received thing I have done! I was a little surprised people liked it so much – pleasantly surprised of course!
What drew me to the project was Trit’s writing – I found it very funny but you can’t always be sure others will agree, especially when it comes to comedy, so again I was so happy! I have a lot of performing arts friends and some just starting out, so since THE CLEANISTS has been airing on TV I get to be the “famous” one that they’re envious of – which is hilariously fun!
Gabriella: It’s been exciting; I never expected so many great responses. We made it out of love for the show – it’s always great when other people love it too.
Craig: The overall response to THE CLEANISTS has been very positive. Various people have liked each character for different reasons, but have really liked the show as a whole. We’ve had a pretty good response from the States as well.
I never thought they’d understand our humor but they’ve taken a shine to it, which is awesome. Having the show airing on TV is pretty awesome. Even though it’s airing in England, it’s still being shown to an audience somewhere, and it gives some exposure.
What are your hopes for the success of season 2? How would you sum it all up in terms of the stories and action, plus the characters?
Tristram: We’d love for Season 2 to be popular with audiences. We all feel we’ve made a better show this time, and we really hope that it finds its audience. Summing up Season 2 is hard without giving away the story before people have watched it. There’s one story thread that runs through all the episodes, following Libby’s somewhat off-balance return to THE CLEANISTS.
There’s also a major subplot to do with Gregg’s new girlfriend and how that affects the team. I think audiences will really enjoy the overall story arc of this season. If we’ve done our job right, it’ll be very involving for audiences across the whole season.
James: My main hope was to reach the quality of Season 1, but I think we’ve surpassed it. The stories that Gregg, Philip, Magda and Libby are in are much more complex, funny and ambitious than in Season 1. I feel like Gabi, Craig, Shanon and myself know our respective characters quite well at this point and we were able to hit the ground running in Season 2.
Shanon: Last season we achieved such wonderful quality on next to no budget so our goal this time was to top that. And I think we did! Season 2 is far more of a whirlwind story than Season 1. You get a lot more of each character. In Season 1 everyone kept within their particular box, if you will. For example, Philip was always awkward, Magda was always bossy – but this season we see different sides to everyone.
The dynamic changes. The top dogs of Season 1 aren’t the top dogs anymore and it’s hilarious to watch that play out! The episodes as individual stories are also more themed I guess. The overall plot is there but we also add in more elements with costuming and style. Scary bits, sci-fi bits, flash-forwards, etc! It just really is more ambitious.
As everyone knows, Libby left for New Zealand at the end of Season 1. So a huge part of her story in Season 2 is her return. New Zealand wasn’t exactly what she hoped and she winds up heavily involved with the Cleanists again – but this time out of necessity. Libby kinda loses it this season, so playing her challenged me a lot more. I spent a lot of time perfecting my crazy face!
Gabriella: Season 2 is very entertaining; I really hope audiences will love it. The season’s overall story sees a lot of development between all the characters and some loose ends are tied up nicely. Some surprises and shocks, all in distinctive ‘Cleanists’ style.
You’re going to see a few aspects to Magda you wouldn’t expect. She becomes more of a real person. But don’t worry: she’s still bossy and controlling – they are characteristics that won’t change and I wouldn’t want to change!
Craig: Personally, I’m keen for the popularity of the show to take off. We all believe that it has the potential to be bigger and bigger. Everybody loves quirky humor and contrasting characters, right? This season we take Philip’s creepiness and bump it up a notch. I feel like there is more to do with his humor and attitude to everyone.
…In one episode, he (Philip) develops a strange interest in an automated house. It’s kinda weird. There’s also a pretty major reveal in the last episode. Overall, though, I somehow don’t think Phillip will ever change, regardless of what happens on screen. We see the other three change somewhat, even just with their costumes, but Philip not so much. However, you will see Philip out of his costume briefly. I just won’t say when.
Note: Regarding closed-captioning of season 2 of THE CLEANISTS, Baumber says: “We would love the series to be closed captioned and/or subtitled. It’s not in our budget at the moment, but we definitely want to make that happen.”
The season 2 premiere of THE CLEANISTS can be viewed here:
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCleanists
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheCleanists
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thecleanists
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