Web Series Wednesday – Venice the Series

By: @freegolaw

WHAT?  Venice the Series*

BY: Created by Crystal Chappell and Kim Turrisi. Produced by Open Book Productions.

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

If you are planning on going to ClexaCon, before April you may want to check out Venice the Series.  One of the panels at ClexaCon this year will be “Venice: The Making of a Web Series.” The panelists will be Crystal Chappell, Caryn Hayes and Shannan Leigh Reeve. It will be moderated by one of my all-time favorite moderators, Dana Piccoli.

Venice the Series follows a hugely successful interior designer, Gina (Crystal Chappell), who lives in Venice, California. It is clear from the first episode that Gina is in love with Ani (Jessica Leccia). The reason it is clear is because within the first few minutes of meeting Ani, it is impossible to not love her. It is also clear that Ani is in love with Gina. However, Gina prefers to avoid commitment in all forms other than in her career and so continually places Ani at arm’s length as she pursues woman after woman on Venice Beach. It is both heartbreaking and frustrating to continually see Ani make herself vulnerable to Gina and to see Gina continually break Ani’s heart.

The series is about far more than beach dates and love triangles. Gina’s father refuses to accept her solely because she is gay. The writer does not tip toe around this reality and instead confronts it head on. Gina’s Aunt immediately comes to her defense against her father and states, “You don’t have to like it. No one is asking you to like it. What you do have to do is accept her because she is your daughter!”  Later in the series, Gina is attempting to have a lunch with her father and he tells her how much of a disappointment she is because she was raised Catholic and she was not supposed to be gay. Gina asserts herself and tells him, “If you think that I have been a disappointment to you, you have no idea what you have been to me.”

Come for the heat, stay for the heart. Even as an adult, Gina is constantly struggling with her own issues. She continually deals with her choices of who she pulls into her bed, who she calls when she truly needs someone, why she doesn’t have a relationship with her father and what to do when everyone else thinks you have it all figured out, when in reality you are struggling not to fall apart.

*This is a Season One glimpse. There are a total of six seasons of Venice The Series.

WHERE CAN I WATCH?  The first two seasons of Venice the Series can be found on YouTube for free.  Seasons 3-5 are available for rental or purchase on their VOD page on their Vimeo channel – along with other shows they have done.  Also, you can purchase DVDs of the series at the online store on their website.

Follow Venice The Series:

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/venicetheseries

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/VenicetheSeries/

Website:  www.venicetheseries.com

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/venice_the_series/