Where the Bears Are

Where the Bears Are
Genre Mystery
Comedy
Created by Rick Copp
Starring
Opening theme "Where the Bears Are" by David E. Zukofski
Composer(s) David Maddux
Country of origin  United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 48
Production
Producer(s) Ben Zook
Rick Copp
Joe Dietl
Running time 7–10 minutes
Production company(s) 3 Bears Entertainment
Broadcast
Original run August 1, 2012 – present
External links
Website

Where the Bears Are is a comedy-mystery web series, which premiered in 2012.[1] The series was created, written by and stars Rick Copp, Joe Dietl and Ben Zook.[2]

Described by the creators as a cross between The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote,[3] the series focuses on Nelson (Zook), Wood (Dietl) and Reggie (Copp), three gay bear friends sharing a house in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood who, in each season, are drawn into a different murder investigation which plays out as a season-long story arc.

Cast

Main

  • Rick Copp as Reggie Hatch
  • Joe Dietl as Wood Burns
  • Ben Zook as Nelson Dorkoff
  • Ian Parks as Todd "Hot Toddy" Stevens
  • Chad Sanders as Det. Chad Winters

Recurring

  • George Unda as Det. Marcus Martinez
  • Pete Cincinnato as Hairy Potter
  • George Sebastian as George Ridgemont
  • Scott Beauchemin as Cyril
  • Loretta Fox as Susie Collins
  • Howie Skora as Ivan
  • Mark Rowe as Jeremy Richards
  • Ray Singh as Mo Kapur
  • Shannon Ward as Turbo
  • Michael Gans as Elliot Butler
  • Julio Tello as Jim aka J.Cub
  • Tim Hooper as the Chief of Police

Guest appearances

Season one
Season two
  • Margaret Cho as Mistress Lena
  • Chris LaVoie as Danny Pendleton
  • Becky Thyre as Mary Ashley Pendleton
  • DJ Decoding Jesus as Himself

Season One

In the first season, the bears are caught up in a murder investigation when they find a man dead in their bathtub the morning after Nelson's birthday party.[1] The supporting cast also includes Ian Parks, Mario Diaz, Julio Tello, Jesse Meli, Scott Beauchemin, James Parr, Chad Sanders, George Sebastian, Tuc Watkins, Jackie Beat, Brooke Dillman and Bruce Daniels.

This season was presented as a series of 25 episodes, and a special Christmas episode was also produced.[4] Subsequently a DVD was released of the series re-edited into a single, continuous film. The DVD also featured the Christmas special as part of its two-disc set, as well as bloopers and outtakes, deleted scenes, a feature length commentary and behind the scenes interviews with the cast and creators.[5]

The first season was named Best Gay Web Series of 2012 by both AfterElton.com[6] and the LGBT blog Queerty.[7]

Season Two

A crowdsourced fundraising campaign was conducted for the second season. On January 17, 2013, the second season started production, although fundraising to finish the series continued.[8]

The second season premiered on June 10, 2013,[9] with a plot in which the bears are again caught up in a murder investigation when Elliot Butler (Michael Gans), Reggie's former college roommate and a candidate for city council, turns up dead at his campaign launch party.[9] New cast members in the second season include Howie Skora, Chris Lavoie, Mark Rowe, George Unda, Ray Singh, Shannon Ward and Margaret Cho.

Season Three

The third season, again supported by a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, premiered on August 11, 2014.[10] In the 22-episode third season, Reggie is producing a reality television pilot for a true crime series, and the bears consequently try to solve a string of murders involving models for Chunk Studios, a bear porn studio.[11] New cast additions in the third season include Drew Droege and Sam Pancake.[12]

References

External links