I don’t like profiling videos or series rooted in “Hollywood†culture if I can help it. Sometimes I can’t help it. Sometimes the work is too strong to be ignored, even as the din of my “don’t profile any more series about Hollywood culture†mantra shames me. Hiatus is worth the shame for two reasons.
First, creators Jasmine Elist and Michael Burke deliver scripts as strong as their performances. Episodes are such a pleasure to watch that one forgives the series’s derivative premise. There are fifty thousand shows about roommates living in LA or New York, trying to make it. That doesn’t matter here, because this one is actually good. One is reminded that, yeah, actually going out and making something strong is the only thing separating run-of-the-mill paper pitches from on-screen favorites.
Second, it appears this series is only available on Facebook. Now, I’m no tech whiz or Gizmodo pundit, but that’s a notable shift in how creators are publishing and promoting their content. YouTube and Vimeo surely aren’t going anywhere fast, but Facebook–especially with the launch of its Watch tab–is in the video mix as a major player and talented folks are starting to give their work permanent residence there.
If you do take a moment to check out an episode of Hiatus, toss Jasmine and Michael a like, will you? 403 is a sin.
Luke is an executive producer at CollegeHumor/Big Breakfast and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours @LKellyClyne. Disclosure: He created a show currently airing on Facebook Watch.Â