In our world, no two people are exactly alike. We all have our own different beliefs, habits and mannerisms that make us unique. After all, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. However, what if we all lived in a world where people not only looked the same but did so in an amazingly unusual way?
The new comedy web series THE WIG PEOPLE depicts such an incredible scenario as a devoted husband and family man named Todd (Todd Birmingham) embarks on a desperate search for his missing wife (played by his real life wife Lori Birmingham) in a world populated by people wearing wigs!
The series debuted in March of 2014, and nine episodes (encompassing 2 seasons) have aired so far on the actor/creator’s official web site, Youtube page and on the video platform Sparkk TV (formerly VBC TV). Links to each site are at the end of this article. Pre-production for season 3 is now underway.
For Todd, his quest to find his spouse is compounded by his fatherly responsibilities to three kids (played by his real life children – 2 year old Evan, 9 year old Kathleen and 5 year old Natalie). To help him in his search for his missing wife, Todd encounters the mysterious “Wig Man”, who bears a striking resemblance to him in every way – except for the fact that he wears a wig and has a mustache.
From there, Todd enters the secret world of “wig people”, a society led by its equally mysterious team leader (played by Erin Waterhouse). That leader ends up recruiting Todd and an entire collection of husbands on a series of perilous missions to find their wives. Unbeknownst to them, the real purpose of the secret society may be more sinister than they could have ever imagined!
The series also stars Jason Eveleth, who appears as a wig-wearing bodybuilder in the show’s premiere episode, and in episode 4 of season 2. A talented, handsome and muscular actor and bodybuilder, Eveleth recently participated on former WWE wrestling champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s CMT reality competition show STEVE AUSTIN’S BROKEN SKULL CHALLENGE. As Birmingham describes him, “Jason (Eveleth) has model looks and physique, but his screen presence is on par with Channing Tatum.”
A veteran actor/filmmaker with 20 years of experience, Birmingham developed the concept for THE WIG PEOPLE out of a short film he produced that just happened to feature a “Wig Man” type character.
“My short film THE SUMMER MONSTER had a character in it that had a wig and mustache. My friend said he would like to see more of that character. Roger Ebert once said the Romans came up with his thumbs up or down idea before him. Well I believe the Romans also came up with a primitive wig in the form of plants and flowers. Then maybe the Benny Hill show used wigs too…Something is very funny about wigs indeed,” he says.
Another key similarity that THE WIG PEOPLE shares with the short film that inspired it is that both projects were a true family affair for Birmingham.
“I decided to make a comedic mystery show centered around the main character seeing people with wigs on, and allowing that to aspect to help push the story forward. I like to involve my kids in all my productions, so THE WIG PEOPLE web series was born.”
For Birmingham, the fact that THE WIG PEOPLE’s primary cast includes a real life family may be its biggest selling point. “I believe that this is the first fiction show that stars an entire actual family. Our last name ‘Birminghams’ is the same length as the ‘Kardashians’. We have as catchy a last name and are a different kind of wholesome family, I believe. It comes across in our show. Even if our asses are flatter,” Birmingham jokes.
Creating THE WIG PEOPLE also provided plenty of benefits for Birmingham as an actor. “I have starred in over 100 commercials and indie films. I now wanted to create my very own series that I could star in. I am known for my wacky and over the top characters in commercials so I decided to play this character a bit closer to the vest which the storyline required.”
As a result of that experience in those ads, Birmingham also knew where to turn to when it came to casting the mysterious leader of the “wig people” depicted in the show of the same name. “I cast Erin Waterhouse (as the wig people team leader) because we have done many commercials over the years. She also went out of her way to refer me to a producer she knew who hired me for a commercial. I returned the favor by offering her a starring role in the web series. She has big league acting chops.”
While casting THE WIG PEOPLE was easier than expected thanks to Birmingham’s wife and children taking up a bulk of the show’s cast, producing each episode had its own series of complications.
“We filmed mostly on weekends and had 9 hour days. 30 minutes or a little more for lunch. I showed up with too much script most of the time. I learned over time that 5-6 pages at most for a day of filming is plenty. If our crane jammed and we fell behind, I learned how to cut script within the first hour. Cutting is tough to do and a great way to avoid it is by showing up with less script,” Birmingham recalls.
Any filmmaker knows that producing quality work depends on quality equipment. For Birmingham and his crew, including cinematographer J.A. von Rekow, the tools they had at their disposal helped give THE WIG PEOPLE a distinctively professional look that paid dividends throughout the production.
“We used a Beechtek so we recorded sound directly to the SD card. It’s great to have a pull focus and all the fancy gear; however, I learned how long it takes to setup the equipment. For the basketball episode we used the Nikon 800 DSLR and a Nikon 7000 DSLR filming at the same time. It made editing easier for me. I used Final Cut Pro in post,” he recalls.
Viewers can expect plenty of comedy in THE WIG PEOPLE, along with a strong element of mystery that will keep them guessing throughout. It’s a unique mixture of genres that Birmingham feels sets the show apart from most other web series.
“No one will ever be able to say they saw something like THE WIG PEOPLE. A comedy mystery where one of the main characters (my wife) is not seen is unique. The idea of taking something like wigs and transforming it into a web series borders on the absurd but it works. The initial reaction is viewers get it and want to see more,” Birmingham adds.
While Birmingham hopes to continue to captivate viewers of THE WIG PEOPLE through its one of a kind hybrid of comedy and mystery, his biggest goal with the series is to prove that no matter how different we are as people, we can all find things that bring us closer.
“The overall message is there is someone always like you. You may be unique in your own way but we have more similarities than differences. The main character in The Wig People realizes he is not the only person with a special power who can see people with wigs. I would describe the show as a husband in search of his wife. A wig masks the truth. The husband needs to uncover the truth.”
(Note: The series is not currently closed captioned.)
ON THE WEB: www.toddbirmingham.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/Birmy
SPARKK TV: http://sparkktv.com/the-wig-people
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-WIG-PEOPLE-A-New-Web-Series-by-Todd-Birmingham/126820867504049
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/TheWigPeople
The first episode of season 2 of THE WIG PEOPLE is embedded below: