Alumni from UNC School of the Arts are collaborating on a possible TV pilot, and they are taking to the Internet to get funding.
The Irregulars, a production company in New York and run by UNCSA alums, has turned to Kickstarter.com, a website that solicits donations for creative projects. The Irregulars' project is "The Drama Dept.," a pilot for a comedy about life at an arts-based college that is facing sweeping cutbacks in funding.
In all, 15 of the 25 cast and crew members are UNCSA alumni, most of them from the School of Drama who live and work in the New York area.
"We just want to get the word out to show our continued support of arts education across the country and specifically UNCSA," said Tom Sawyer, a 2004 alum of the School of Drama and one of the producers.
He said that the plan is to film a pilot that they can take around to network pitch meetings, rather than going in with the idea for a show and asking for the money to shoot a pilot.
"That way, we can tell the story we want to tell and use this as a bargaining chip," he said.
They are hoping to shop it around to networks such as Comedy Central or FX. Part of their inspiration, Sawyer said, comes from shows such as FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," which was also based on a low-budget pilot that was made by the cast before a deal had been made.
"It seems TV is how you reach the widest audience," Sawyer said.
They have raised about $6,500. In a media release announcing the project, writer/creator Mike Anderson (School of Drama, 2006) said he was cautiously optimistic that the group could raise the rest of the money by June 10, their cutoff date. Their goal is $10,000.
To find out more, watch a demo video or read their funny pitch letter, go to www.kickstarter.com/projects/314796374/the-drama-dept-the-funniest-show-not-yet-on-tv.
* * * * *Two MTV shows are ending their seasons this week with special episodes. "The Hard Times of R.J. Berger," a racy sitcom about sex-obsessed high schoolers, is wrapping up its second season with a one-hour finale at 10 p.m. Monday. The reality show "The Real World: Las Vegas" ends its season at 10 p.m. Wednesday.
* * * * *Though it can veer into the absurd, or perhaps because of that, HBO's vampire drama "True Blood" is a lot of fun.
The series has been the top-selling TV-on-DVD title for the past two years. It is set in a world where vampires are a recognized minority group, trying to fit into human society.
In the third season, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, the show adds werewolves into the mix, as well as the usual over-the-top blend of sexy soap opera, social satire and supernatural thrills.
Extras in the DVD version include features, a tribute music video by Snoop Dogg and seven audio commentaries; the Blu-ray adds an "enhanced viewing" option with picture-in-picture, interactive, on-screen guides and more behind-the-scenes features.
The fourth season of the show, with a storyline involving witchcraft, will air on HBO starting June 26.
* * * * *Also new on DVD Tuesday: The first seasons of "Rookie Blue," a police drama about five rookies getting used to their dangerous new careers, and "Swamp People," a History Channel reality show about people who make their living in the swamps; and "Psych: The Complete Fifth Season," continuing the misadventures of a fake psychic who solves crimes, with 15 audio commentaries and several features.
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