Robbing houses is a dangerous pursuit – but it becomes downright comical when two dimwitted crooks get involved in the new comedy web series AMONG THIEVES, created, written, produced and directed by Malcolm Pelles. The series stars Lynette Rathnam as Liz, and Andrew Agner-Nichols as Cole, a pair of robbers who manage to get themselves into some sticky and hilarious situations – while also exchanging some witty repartee’ in the process.

New episodes will air on the first and third Tuesday of each month (a.k.a. “Among Thieves Tuesdays”) on its official web site, plus its Youtube and Blip.TV pages (each of which, according to Pelles, will go live on October 12th; links will be announced then).

While Pelles says that the first season is not currently closed captioned, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of utilizing that feature for the second season, and he also hope to serve foreign language audiences as well. “The original run of Season 1 won’t include closed-caption(ing). However, doing a second run of episodes with CC’s (closed captions) is a brilliant idea. Also, many Spanish speakers have expressed interest in the series, and so maybe we’ll also post episodes with Spanish subtitles,” Pelles says.

A self-described “comedy nerd”, Pelles created AMONG THIEVES with the goal of bringing audiences a show that’s both entertaining and hilarious, much like the web series sitcoms that inspired him. “I created the show after being a longtime fan of web series like AWKWARD BLACK GIRL, TOO FRAGILE, and TINY APARTMENT. I just wanted to make people laugh like those shows made me laugh,” he says. “I have a MFA (master of fine arts) in writing from NYU (New York University) and a college degree from Florida State University in filmmaking. I’d been itching to put together a project for a while, and when the idea for AMONG THIEVES came to me, I just ran with it.”

As he explains, though, comedy, as well as people from all walks of life (both good and bad) is perhaps the biggest thing that motivates him as a filmmaker. “I love everything from Woody Allen to Richard Pryor to Nora Ephron movies to HBO’s Mr. Show – the list goes on. So, comedy inspires me. Also the people I see and observe in everyday life inspire me.  Criminals, teachers, activists, workers, businessmen — whoever.”

Pre-production began in earnest, and during the casting phase the two actors who would eventually become the show’s primary leads (Rathnam and Agner-Nichols) hit it off almost immediately. “We held auditions. When Lynette and Andrew read together you could feel the chemistry in the room. Immediately, I knew they would be an awesome comedy team,” Pelles recalls. Along with the show’s hilarious cast, plus its smart, witty writing, Pelles feels that another distinct feature that sets AMONG THIEVES apart from other web sitcoms is its format: the series’ six episodes are short, sweet and most of all, funny. “Installments are quick bursts of comedy — no longer than 2 1/2 minutes. This makes them perfect to enjoy on breaks at work and for sharing,” he says.

While Pelles hopes that the first season of AMONG THIEVES will be successful (he hasn’t ruled out a Kickstarter campaign if there is a second season), his main goal is simple: “I just hope audiences enjoy it, and that the show finds fans. It’s hilarious and I hope folks love it as much as we loved making it.”

ON THE WEB: www.AmongThievesTV.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Among-Thieves-TV/517002301682023

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/AmongThievesTV