In and ‘Outs’

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Mark Blackmon

Now, you know I’m biased when it comes to my gay web series’, so this feels a bit like I’m cheating, but…. The first episode of the second season of The Outs is out today and, I’m happy to report, it’s just as good as the previous season.

Adam Goldman and his tribe of lovelies — Hunter Canning, Tommy Heleringer, Sasha Winters — are back; and delightful guest stars, such as Alan Cumming and Phillip Taratula will be popping up in later episodes. We get Welcome to Night Vale’s Cecil Baldwin in this episode.

It was quite delightful to check back in on these characters this morning and it’s great to see that Goldman is still working in top form. No one writes a perfectly formed gay, barbed epigram quite like Goldman.

Episodes of the second season of The Outs will be released weekly, beginning today, on Vimeo on Demand. The trailer’s above. Highly recommended.

PS — The first time I wrote about this show was back in 2012. Can it be that long ago? Oy.

Actor Hunter Canning Talks ‘The Outs,’ ‘Whatever This Is’

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Mark Blackmon

Actor Hunter Canning talks to MBS about acclaimed web-series The Outs and new series Whatever This Is.

Tommy Heleringer as Scruffy and Hunter Canning as Jack, two of the stars of the web series The Outs.

Tommy Heleringer and co-star Hunter Canning on the set of The Outs.

Nice interview. Of the web series’ I love, ‘The Outs’ is right at the very top. Adam Goldman’s Rascal Department is filming their latest creation (also starring Canning) right now. I didn’t discover ‘The Outs’ in time to contribute, but I did to ‘Whatever This Is.’ I am enjoying immensely watching these talented young people work.

Interview: Filmmaker Adam Goldman on “Whatever This Is,” “The Outs,” and Crowd-Funding

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Mark Blackmon

Interview: Filmmaker Adam Goldman on “Whatever This Is,” “The Outs,” and Making Crowd-Funded Series | Tribeca.

AG: And that allowed us to finish up the show. But with Whatever This Is, you know I talk about this a lot. We don’t purport to take any responsibility for this but if you look for the release schedule for The Outs, it turns pretty clearly with the way that people have evolved the way that they watch television online. And when we started The Outs the first episode is 12 minutes and people said “fuck you, nobody is going to want to watch something that is 12 minutes long online.” And I had to sort of say you know I bet they will if it’s good. And then by our last episode they sort of grew and grew and the last one is 43 minutes and by the time out last episode was out, House of Cards was out and Netflix has been so huge in that arena.

This is a great interview with Adam Goldman and, if you’re interested in this sort of thing, it’s well worth the read.

(l-r) Hunter Canning, Sasha Winters and Adam Goldman star in the exceptional Web series, The Outs. Winters and Canning are back in front of the camera in the latest Goldman-penned series, Whatever This Is. Photo: Interview/Unusually Fine Photography

What he says above is not sui generis, people absolutely will watch something long online AS LONG AS IT’S GOOD. This nonsense about not watching anything longer than a 2 or 3 minute YouTube video online is lunacy. It flies in the face of all conventional wisdom we know about motion pictures and television viewing. Now, with online viewing patterns changing, we know that not only will someone watch an hour of House of Cards on their laptop, they’ll watch a whole damn season in one sitting!

Anyhow, Goldman and his Rascal Department are possessed of significant talent. I am so looking forward to the next episode(s) of Whatever This Is and am ecstatic that I was able to contribute to this project and help it get off the ground.

“Whatever this is.” — New Web Series from the Creators of “The Outs”

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mark Blackmon

Can’t believe I haven’t talked about this yet, but the latest Web series from The Outs’ Adam Goldman and company has met its rather significant Kickstarter goal. I’m excited about this for several reasons. First, I was one of the Kickstarter contributors and I nudged a couple of other people to contribute as well. Second, The Outs was probably my very favorite Web series of the last several years, even though I was a significant supporter of several others.

The WTI ensemble consists of several familiar faces for viewers of The Outs, including Tommy Heleringer (second from left), Hunter Canning (second from right) and Sasha Winters (kneeling). Image: Whatever this is. Facebook.

Goldman and company have already proven that theirs is a unique voice and one that has connected with the audience. The gelling of a true ensemble is making their Rascal Department an independent force to be reckoned with. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Here’s a link to the first episode.

For Adam Goldman, a Place That Isn’t Out to Get Him – NYTimes.com

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Mark Blackmon

(l-r) Hunter Canning, Sasha Winters and Adam Goldman star in the exceptional Web series, The Outs.
Photo: Interview/Unusually Fine Photography

Adam Goldman lives in one of those Brooklyn prewar buildings near Prospect Park where the buzzer doesn’t always work, and the vestibule and lobby doors are frequently left unlatched. “But I feel safe here,” said Mr. Goldman, the creator, director and star of “The Outs,” the cultish online TV series that chronicled the dissolution of a romance between two gay 20-something men in contemporary Brooklyn. “This apartment is a step up.”

via For Adam Goldman, a Place That Isn’t Out to Get Him – NYTimes.com.

Pretty good article about Adam Goldman and his Brooklyn apartment. I enjoyed his Web series, The Outs, immensely. I thought it was so well-written and acted. It was witty, urbane, gripping and had an edge. It was the opposite of the bland fodder which comes out of Hollywood. That’s why the note in this piece that Goldman now has “representation in L.A.” makes me want to cringe a little. I hope the Left Coast doesn’t eat him.

Take It Good One — One Last Time

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Mark Blackmon

Last episode of one of my favorite Web series, The Outs, will be released on April 1. The trailer is below. You should watch all of the episodes. No, seriously, watch The Outs!