LOS ANGELES – Are we ready for another next Sex and the City? Sex and the City 2 proves the market is still hungry to follow a women’s journey about life, love, friendship and sex. And we’ve been on this journey way before Sex and the City started in 1998. But can the creators of Sex and the City take it any further with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda or have they exhausted these stories and are ready to pass the martini to someone new?

Doesn’t sound unreasonable by any stretch, as long as the execution meets the expectations. Sure Darren Star, Michael Patrick King and Candace Bushnell hit a home run with the fabulous four best friends, but whose to say it can’t happen again?

Take for instance a new underdog web series Party Girl Plus One [www.partygirlplusone.com] created by an unknown actress and writer Jennifer Dawson. The web series follows Jennifer, referred to as “Jen”, a 30 something divorcee whose abandoned her previous dating criteria and will date anyone and everyone until she finds her true Plus One. Chronicling each date in her dating diary, Jen uncovers a journey about life, love and self discovery.

The show takes off from a very simple premise. After a divorce and a stint in the rebound party lane, Jen has to start dating again. A series of strange and awkward outings prompt her to start keeping a diary. Party Girl Plus One is a look at that diary, as each episode is a self contained recount of the engagements. Through narration, each 4 minute episode chronicles the different social, cultural, religious and or economic (to name a few) obstacles Jen faces on her quest for true love, proving no one is exempt from their own dating neurosis including Jen herself.

For a web series, which often face the pressure of keeping the content between 4 to 6 minutes, the tone and comedy of the series is right on par with any HBO or cable comedy. The subject matter of dating, life and love is nothing new and yet in execution, this web series seems to have the raw hook and appeal that Sex and the City had when it first aired. The writing, performances and use of music are seamless and provide an excellent canvas to see this series played out as a half hour show including the dates of an ensemble cast. Not to mention the network style production value for a web series.

And the best part about Party Girl Plus One is that these dates really happened. The material is drawn from Dawson’s own personal dating diary and each episodes is a scripted reenactment of actual dating situations that she experienced (of course names and identities have been changed). Dealing with adult themes for mature audiences in a humorous tone while maintaining relatability to the audience seals the deal.

Sex and the City, do not worry. You’re stories about love, sex and relationships will continue to be told. Trust that Party Girl Plus One can handle the tall order.

Watch Party Girl Plus One at www.partygirlplusone.com or www.youtube.com/partygirlplusone.

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When it rains blood it pours blood.

Remember when all those Vampire movies and TV shows came out, followed by web series and YouTube videos. It’s as if they all came out at the same time. We couldn’t get enough True Blood, Twilight, New Moon, The Vampire Diaries, Kevin Pollack’s Vamped Out (web series) and don’t forget Joss Whedon’s long running Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Seems like the subject of dating, love and relationships is headed in the same direction this year. I’d like to say Party Girl Plus One started the trend, but I have to admit I wasn’t the first.  How about the star studded cast including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Scarlett Johansson in “He’s Just Not that into You” or  New Line Cinema’s “Valentine’s Day” directed by Garry Marshall including Jessica Alba and Bradley Cooper.

Mark Wahlberg

As bees swarm to honey, the networks are not far behind the studios with NBC rolling out THREE television shows in the same vein with Love Bites, Perfect Couples and Friends with Benefits.  Don’t forget ABC’s Romantically Challenged staring Alyssa Milano which has already hit the air, and most recently HBO to team up with Mark Wahlberg to develop a new dating show described as an “Entourage in Heals“.

So it is written in Blood, Party Girl Plus One is on to something.

So will this years “Vampire” take the shape of Dating, Love and Relationships? And do we have to give up all the blood?

First off, I’d like to think the subject of dating, love and relationships will be this years big bloody winner. But I don’t think the subject of dating is as trendy as vampire related stories and will ever loose it’s appeal. It’s all in the delivery of the show.

And as far the giving up all the blood and guts, well isn’t that what dating is about?  It definitely takes guts to date.  A lot less bloody, but nonetheless a bleeding heart is still a bleeding heart.

Keep your eyes open for Party Girl Plus One as the networks are looking for the next bloody thing to sink their teeth into.

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Party Girl Plus HBO

Here’s your chance to help take Party Girl Plus One from the web to TV.

NexTv is looking for web series that can be adapted into TV Shows. Calling all fans and friends to vote here for Party Girl Plus One in NexTv’s Web Series Competition. All you have to do is click here, scroll down and find Party Girl Plus One, and hit the CHECK mark. No sign up, sign in. Easy!

The Entertainment Industry has changed! Hollywood’s top decision-makers are scouring the web, looking for independent artists to generate tomorrow’s great content.

ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA began as an $85 short film, HBO’S “In Treatment” was found on Israeli television, the documentary, COCAINE COWBOYS, is being remade by Bruckheimer with MARK WAHLBERG starring. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY began as an $11,000 indie film and has grossed over $180 Million to date…

All because the right people  saw their work!

Jason Alexander of Seinfeld

But finding filmmakers hidden in the vast sea of internet content has become the real challenge. NexTv has created this competition to bring Industry Leaders from around Hollywood to view work such as Party Girl Plus One.

Finalists’ work will be chosen for their originality, execution and most of all the, potential for becoming successful television content. HELLO!! Ask and you shall receive Party Girl Plus One as the HBO, Showtime, F/X or other cable show you and I have always envisioned it.

Check out the incredible panel of JUDGES to see the exposure and excitement there is about this competition in the industry.

Help make Party Girl Plus One that web series success story that happens to people you know, not just something you’ve read about.  You’ve seen the hard work, you know it can happen.  That’s what we live for, isn’t it.

Thank you for believing in me!

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Heartour’s Day Job

So I did my write up on Jason Young and his solo work, Heartour.  To re-visit that post click here.

The Ruse

Wouldn’t you know, a few days later I get a package from Jason in the mail.  Heartour’s complete ablum “Ate” along with “Midnight in the City”, a collaborative album with his band The Ruse.  I know, I love this job.

First off, not only is Jason talented as a solo artist, but The Ruse is quite the band in and of itself.

Check out the first track which had me at ‘beautiful’, called “Beautiful is Gone”. Okay, I didn’t need a band to tell me beauty is going, going, gone…

Track 1 Beautiful Is Gone, The Ruse

So if you like what you heard, it’s no doubt you’ve probably heard them before.

No stranger to television, the band has had over a dozen tracks and a cameo role on MTV’s “The Hills;” they performed in an episode of HBO’s “Entourage;” and several songs from the band’s last album, Midnight in the City, are in current use on MTV’s new show, “The Buried Life.” JamLegend.com will make Love Sex Confusion songs available for fans to play – the Ruse is a JamLegend.com favorite with over 900,000 plays on the website.

The Ruse have been known to deliver songs that will crawl into your head and take hold of your heart. Love Sex Confusion, the band’s fourth studio album of new songs, brings a blend of guitar-laden tracks and commanding drum and bass lines that generate the feeling of a live performance.

“We wanted to make the songs on the album much more ‘danceable’ than we did on previous albums,” guitarist Jim Bilus says. “Overall, we wanted to make a rock and roll album that would really shine when we played it live. We tried to create a bigger and brighter sound that would be fun for our audience.”

Love Sex Confusion is equal parts of lead singer John Dauer’s powerful operatic vocals, guitarist Jim Bilus’ rocking garage-y guitar riffs, and the burly rhythms dispensed by drummer Jason Young and bassist Mark Stolze.

Armed with Love Sex Confusion, the Ruse will launch a national tour starting on April 1st in Chicago at the Elbow Room in conjunction with the March 23, 2010 street date. The album was produced by Jorge Vivo and the band in their hometown of Los Angeles. With Love Sex Confusion, the Ruse continues to combine honest lyrics with a selfless message, swinging from stripped down rock to moving, moody, and melodic ballads.

For all you new potential fans, check out their tour dates below, and if you want to join me at The Roxy in LA on May 14th, send me a shout out.

http://www.rusemusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/rusemusic

http://www.twitter.com/theruse

http://www.facebook.com/rusemusic

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When you mention the word web series to people and they look at you cross-eyed, you might want to ask them where they have been the last 10+ years (at the very least).

Web series, short form content delivered to the viewer via the web (Party Girl Plus One is one of many examples), has been around since 1996 according to my pal Brett Love’s Webisode Clack: Grape Jam and the LA Webfest. In Brett’s article, he states  “According to a December ‘96 issue of Websight magazine…the article inside is titled “Honey, what’s on the web tonight?” Reading through it, it’s amazing how familiar it all sounds. It’s talking about the merger of the web and television, and what that means for how we will watch things in the future. Really, if you omit a couple of the obviously dated references (IRC!, Real Audio), much of the article is still very relevant today.”

And to take it one step further, the girl featured in the 1996 article is Brittney Powell, starring in Safety Geeks: SVI, a current web series created by another pal of mine Tom Konkle and his partner David Beeler.  Safety Geeks: SVI also received a Visual Effects Nomination at this years Streamy Awards.  Congrats Tom and David!

So web series have been around for almost 15 years and they are only growing by the number.  Where do we go from here?  Word around town is mobile devices.  Short form content delivered to your cell phone.  Well that’s nothing new, we get the news, movies and TV shows on our cell phones already.  I’m talking “Mobi-Sodes”.  Short form episodic shows created specifically for the cell phone with soft cell, uh I mean ’sell’, product placement embedded in the content tied to your GPS, so advertisers can target your all mighty dollar at any time.

Pretty cool, pretty creepy, pretty 2010.

To check out Brett’s full article on cliqueclack.com, click here.

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