For a young woman who suffers a life-changing accident – and loses her memory in the process – getting back to a normal life becomes a scary, and often humorous adventure in the new web series comedy MISDIRECTED, written, directed and created by Marion Kerr. The show’s nine episode first season debuted last May on its official web site and on Blip.tv (see links below), with new episodes airing each Monday. MISDIRECTED stars Lauren Mora as Freddie, a woman who struggles to regain her memory – and any sense of a normal life – with the help of her best friend (or at least he says he is), Josh (played by John T. Woods), plus his friends, Cameron, a filmmaker (played by Joel Kelley Dauten) and co-worker Gerald (Ross Philips). The show also stars Erika Ishii as Melanie (introduced in the series’ sixth episode).
Kerr developed MISDIRECTED from a unique concept: what if you met your best friends all over again? The process proved to be both enlightening and emotional, Mora says. “Marion had been playing with the idea for some time, examining the friend dynamic, and how might a person feel if they were to meet their group again, for the first time. Would they even like them? She crafted the story, titling it the ‘Untitled Lauren Mora Project’ and presented it to me on my birthday. She said it wasn’t done, but this is what she had so far. I should give it a read and let her know if I wanted her to change anything. There was some hugging and tearing of eyes, and when I eventually read it, I thought it was fresh, fun and I was excited to put it together.”
Filming each episode also proved to be a fun experience, despite some challenges, according to Mora, who also served as the show’s executive producer. “We decided to shoot the whole series all at once, like a short film, over Memorial weekend last year, taking 5 days and 7 locations with a small crew. We had to work quickly, some of those locations were charging by the hour, but it was the absolute most fun I’ve ever had on a set. The crew was fantastic, and funny! We got along famously and even had time for some games. Ever heard of ‘Get Down Mr. President!’?
Mora says that MISDIRECTED stands apart from many comedy web series, primarily because while it provides viewers with hilarious moments, it also gives them a sense of mystery by portraying the story of a seemingly ordinary woman thrust into the frightening world of losing one’s memory – and struggling to regain one’s sense of self and normalcy. “Sure the show is comedic, but it also has some serious grounded elements, as well as a ‘what the heck is going on here?’ factor, which leads us to dub it a ‘comedy mystery’, and there aren’t that many of those!” She also feels that the show will appeal to a wide range of audiences. “MISDIRECTED is a bit SAMANTHA WHO? (the 2007-09 sitcom starring Christina Applegate of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) swirled around with a dash of NEW GIRL (the popular sitcom with Zooey Deschanel) and I think it appeals to a wide range of people, young and old, male and female. At the heart of it is a group of friends, who may or may not be telling the entire truth, (and) who of us can’t relate?”
With MISDIRECTED, Mora also took a compact approach to each episode in terms of length, hoping not only to hook viewers in the first few seconds with the story, but also to keep them watching, a factor she feels is missing in many of today’s web series. “What I had liked so much about THE GUILD and PROM QUEEN (each popular web series) was how brief the episodes were – just enough to get a taste, and want more. I wanted to tell a story that would suck people in, not drive them away. They were good models to look to.” While she hopes that the series will not only achieve financial success – and a second season, her goal is simple: to bring viewers an entertaining show that will be well worth their time. “I would like to get the show in front of as many eyes as possible and hope that those eyes enjoy what they see. The goal is always to entertain, and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive. As far as financially, I’d love the success of season one to fund season two because, trust me, you’re going to want season two.”
ON THE WEB: www.misdirectedshow.com
BLIP.tv: www.blip.tv/misdirected
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Misdirected.Show
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/showmisdirected
No Comment