A show “about love, with love, for love, with a touch of kick-ass humor” is how Daryl Ferrara describes LOVE, PERIOD, a new comedy web series, co-produced by Ferrara’s New Jersey-based Lamb Fer Productions, and co-creator, head writer and social media coordinator James Lindsay’s Tight Spot Productions (based in Brisbane, Australia). Lindsay also co-wrote the episodes along with producer Jeff Rosenberg. The fourteen episode first season is scheduled to be filmed in the coming months, with the first episode set to air May 13th. In addition, the first two episodes of the show’s second season have already been written.
LOVE, PERIOD focuses on the staff of a matchmaking agency called Love Evolve, comprised of Scott Powder (played by Ferrara), along with Paula Sharp (played by Jeannette Woolf, who also serves as the show’s executive producer). Co-stars Kate Forsatz, Lauren Hooper, Daniel Spencer, and Erick Szentmiklosy round out the agency’s zany staff, a cast of characters that, like many series ensembles, each stand out. “We loved Friends and Seinfeld and knew we wanted an ensemble cast; where each character was just as important as the next, much like New Girl and Happy Endings are today,” says Ferrara, who, along with Lindsay, are both first-time comedy writers.
Ferrara, who created the show’s characters with Lindsay (who further developed the characters with Rosenberg), says that LOVE, PERIOD sets itself apart from other web series by its own unique brand of humor: “Love, Period finds the essence of humor in the everyday. Normal, yet interesting characters interacting in a real way. People will relate to the situations and be swept along for the ride. There is a character for every viewer to gravitate towards.” The ensemble cast is comprised of actors who have previously worked with Ferrara (who, incredibly, worked with Forsatz in a restaurant many years ago). “How I cast the show: it really happened through Facebook. Powerful, huh? I started by going after people I have worked with in the past. Lauren Hooper who plays Jasmine immediately came to mind.”
Ferrara hopes to build the show’s momentum through social media, a campaign spearheaded by Lindsay, through Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, including a Facebook-only contest where a lucky fan can win a 2 episode walk-on role in a future episode. Before the series debuts, fans will have a teaser to hold them over, one that was re-shot to emphasize the romantic aspects of the show. “We want our first impression of material (aka the teaser) to back that of our marketing campaigns…with that being said, the term LOVERS has been coined as that of which we call our fans. Hopefully it catches on.”
Like many web series creators, Ferrara hopes to achieve not only a show that connects with, and entertains, viewers, but for it to help further the careers of his extraordinary team of actors, writers and other production personnel, and especially, to be proud in their work. “We were inspired by the daunting task of writing a truly funny show, but most of all, each other. Knowing that we can have one another to bounce ideas off of. To take the critique of failed characters or story lines that never made it into a script. To laugh at the asinine ideas that were thrown around as possibilities. We know we are extremely lucky to have the team in place that we do.”