A job. A wife. A life. It’s all part of the American dream, right? While adults may think that having such perks comes with obvious benefits, personal and professional happiness aren’t always among them.
Premiering its 6 episode first season this January on its official Youtube page (see link below, official trailer here), a new comedy series titled – what else – A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE focuses on the incredibly unhappy life of a guy named Blake (played by series writer/director Brett Golov).
Why so unhappy? For one thing, while Blake is married to his gorgeous wife Amy (played by Natasha Sherritt), their relationship is already on shaky ground.
Even worse, Blake’s day job consists of performing absolutely tedious tasks that would have otherwise been done by his obnoxious boss, Marvin (Frank Licari). Luckily, Blake’s laid-back best friend Riley (Thomas Falborn) always tries to boost his spirits – no matter how bad things may seem each day.
Brett Golov (who also wrote and directed) plays lead character Blake in the new comedy A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
Both actors and filmmakers alike know all about how unpredictable the world of show business can be on a daily basis, and about how success can often be very hard to come by.
For Golov, his own professional struggles in acting, plus his devotion to the craft and his desire to create an outlet for him and his fellow actors to exhibit their talents, were among the primary factors that led him to create A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
“I have always had an undying passion for acting, so that right there was the impetus; I always want to work as an actor,” remembers Golov. “I hit a really long slow period and I couldn’t deal with it anymore. As a result, I began by creating a forum to ‘just do it’, wanting to bring a story to life and figuring out the best possible formula to showcase my acting and involve some very talented friends.”
That formula presented itself in Golov’s series, which itself was inspired by some of his favorite adult sitcoms (SEINFELD, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and VEEP, just to name a few). After spending time researching the basics and specifics of short form web series, Golov focused his efforts on developing and casting A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
Natasha Sherritt co-stars as Amy, wife of Blake (Brett Golov) in the new comedy series A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
“I thought about comedic shows that I identified with on numerous levels, and actor friends whom I wanted to work with,” Golov says. “From there, I started to outline an idea, create characters, put it into three acts, have a theme for each webisode, and to develop a formulaic approach in hopes to make this web series something that an audience will be drawn to.”
As has been mentioned on Snobby Robot in the past, everyone who’s ever produced their own original online series has experienced their fair share of difficulties during various stages of production. For Golov, one such problem occurred before he and his cast arrived on the set of A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
“Early on in the pre-production phase, I had approached someone else to direct this piece. As a first time creator, writer and producer of a project, I really wanted to focus on my acting,” recalls Golov. “After many months, a week and a half before production, the director walked of the project due to creative differences.”
As it turned out, Golov found the confidence he needed as he prepared to fully take the reins behind the camera. “Since this project had been on my mind for a number of months through the various drafts of each webisode, I felt a bit more at ease jumping into the director’s chair, although I wish that I had the time to storyboard out each episode, but that will be for next time,” he adds.
Of course, it also helps when you’re working with talented actors who help bring each script and character to life. As Golov explains, their dedication and commitment made A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE’s production an efficient and memorable one.
Frank Licari (left) co-stars as Marvin, boss/constant thorn in the side of Blake (Brett Golov, right) in A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE.
“I would say that having cast co-stars/friends who were each extremely seasoned, talented professionals and at ease with being on set who completely put their faith in me, made the entire process extremely rewarding as a director.”
Perfecting the look, sound and feel of A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE was also crucial to the series’ success, and Golov enjoyed the advantages of working alongside two talented post-production specialists. From its quirky, black and white stick figure opening titles, to its extensive sound design, each episode of A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE features a distinct and impressive level of production quality.
“Two individuals who took this project to another level in post-production were Hayden Patton, sound designer, who added an entire layer/character to the project with his unique creative sound design to each webisode, as well as Anteneh Adamu, visual effects designer, who created the animated show-opening segment which went above and beyond my imagination,” Golov says. “They both set the bar, and then exceeded it.”
Thomas Falborn co-stars in A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE as Riley, the wise, easy-going best friend of Blake (played by Brett Golov).
As Golov prepares to launch A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE, his hopes for its overall success are many.
“(I hope) for the show to find an audience, for viewers to be engaged, to comment and recommend it to others, and for it to go viral,” he says. “It would be fantastic for this show to be able to continue with a season 2, and have financial backing to explore more issues. It would also be quite a thing for the viewing audience to see just how talented the entire cast is, and to be recognized as such.”
No matter how great – or not so great – your life may be, A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE proves that the way you look at life itself truly makes all the difference. Thanks to its hilarious, yet highly relatable situations and characters, Golov feels that his series will help viewers appreciate and identify with the ups and downs of life through the gift of laughter.
“Life is life. It can be beautiful, it can be funny, it can be sad, and what makes it tangible, vibrant and identifiable as such is when the audience/viewer is able to identify those qualities in the show – both the good and bad and if they can see the humor in both,” Golov says. “Life is in the eye of the beholder.”
(Note: Golov says that all 6 episodes of A JOB, A WIFE, A LIFE’s first season will be closed-captioned.)
The series’ trailer can be viewed at the embedded link here:
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa_th4OwfU5Zckh4pzSCIpg/feed
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ajobawifealife/
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