Tough Love (web series)
| Tough Love | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by |
Steven Bell Nick Douglas |
| Directed by |
Steven Bell Elizabeth Zephryine McDonough Sarah Baskin |
| Starring |
Steven Bell Blaire Wendel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Steven Bell Blaire Wendel Brendan Swift |
| Location(s) | New York City, New York |
| Cinematography | Brendan Swift |
| Production company(s) | Based on Life Productions |
| Distributor | YouTube |
| Broadcast | |
| Original airing | March 2013 |
Tough Love is an odd couple comedy about the awkwardness of love and friendship. The show, based out of New York City, is an LGBT web series that premiered in March 2013 which stars Steven Bell and Blaire Wendel. Bell and Wendel are known mononymously while playing themselves through the series as Steven and Blaire.
Overview
Background
Steven and Blaire met their senior year of high school and have been friends for almost 8 years as of late 2014. After their first year of living together in the city, they decided to write short scenes based on real life conversations they had together. They decided to film one of the scenes and it turned out to be the first episode of Tough Love.[1]
Plot
Blaire is a trainwreck lesbian monster who can't seem to decide on an identity. Steven is her uptight gay best friend who feels like a misfit in the gay community of NYC. Together they navigate their way through coming out, awkward family dinners, and messy relationships. All the while trying not to drive each other totally insane. Speaking about the upcoming third season Bell states, "Fans of Tough Love should be super excited for what's next. We have a budget this time around and we're taking things to the next level. Expect more awkward dates, flashback scenes, and lots of fun guest stars!"
Reception
The Huffington Post called Tough Love "one of our favorite queer web series of 2014".[2] Others have called it "hilarious",[3] with Out describing it as "a thoroughly modern, snarky, and youthful look at today’s LGBT scene."[4]
Episodes
Season 1
| Episode | Title | Date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weight Loss | Apr 26, 2013 | Blaire discovers that she could potentially be at risk of being morbidly obese. |
| 2 | Personal Space | May 6, 2013 | Steven finds that being roommates in a tiny New York City apartment is uncomfortable, annoying, and downright humiliating. |
| 3 | Meditate on This | May 13, 2013 | Steven tries to become calm by using meditation. |
| 4 | Rage Quit | May 20, 2013 | Everyone loves game night, but no one loves a sore loser. When Blaire and Steven plan to have a game night they have no idea the tension that is in store. They choose to play Scrabble and Steven is determined to win. Will Steven remain the Scrabble Champion or will he get mad and Rage Quit? |
| 5 | Don't Panic | May 27, 2013 | Blaire has a severe panic attack in the middle of the night, and the only person she can turn to is Steven. She wakes him up and begs him to take her to Urgent Care, but Steven's got other priorities on his mind, mainly sleep. |
| 6 | Lady Lessons | Jun 18, 2013 | Blaire has been trying to create her eHarmony profile for hours, but she's having a rough time. Steven gives her the tough advice she needs to create a successful online dating profile. |
| 7 | Barbie | Jun 25, 2013 | Steven and Blaire get in touch with their inner child by having coloring book hang out time. Unfortunately, this brings up some sour memories for Blaire. |
| 8 | Jealousy | Jul 12, 2013 | Blaire gets insanely jealous of Steven's new friend. |
Season 2
| Episode | Title | Date | Synopsis[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Invitation | Jun 30, 2014 | Steven and Blaire get overwhelmed by Netflix queues and Groupons. |
| 2 | The Party | Jun 30, 2014 | Steven and Blaire go to one of those parties that just makes you feel worse about yourself. |
| 3 | The Goddesses | Jun 30, 2014 | Steven gets stressed out by his meditation teacher, and Blaire wonders if she’s gay. |
| 4 | The Announcement | Jun 30, 2014 | Blaire upsets a dinner party when she reveals something personal. |
| 5 | Movie Night | Jun 30, 2014 | Blaire and her new girlfriend make out around the apartment so much that Steven can’t even make breakfast. |
On shooting "Movie Night", which was the season 2 finale, Bell stated to the Huffington Post "This episode was super exciting for me to work on. Up until this point our characters haven't explored intimate situations with other humans, and it's like a whole new level of hilarious. Not to mention it's so fun to finally see some gay/lesbian action happening in the series. I also loved playing with the idea of friendships changing as we grow older. I think everyone can relate to what it feels like to have a friend get into a new relationship and suddenly disappear entirely. It's sad and frustrating and ultimately an inevitable part of adulthood."[6]
Season 3
Currently in production.
For the third season, Tough Love used a Kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds for filming.[7]
References
- ↑ "Tough Love". Boro Magazine. 18 Feb 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ Nichols, James (22 Sep 2014). "'Tough Love' Launches Final Episode, Turns To Kickstarter To Save It". Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ "Gay Web Series, Tough Love, Launches Kickstarter". Rukkle. 3 Sep 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ Ehrhardt, Michelle. "Fund This: Queer Web Series Gives Us Tough Love". Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ↑ "Steven Bell". Slack Story. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ Nichols, James (1 Jul 2014). "'Tough Love,' Queer Web Series, Premieres 'Movie Night'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ↑ "GAY WEB SERIES 'TOUGH LOVE' SEEKS FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER: VIDEO". Towleroad. September 9, 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.