Entertainment

‘EastSiders’ Season 2 Comes to Vimeo, DVD, Digital Platforms

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Dating an ex can get complicated, as Season 2 of the Web series “EastSiders,” now available on Vimeo On Demand, reveals. There’s love, shared history, and the excitement of starting something new. What’s new for exes Cal and Thom are the ground rules that involve opening up their sexual relationship to other people.

On Nov. 3 Wolfe Video will release the new season on DVD and across additional digital platforms, so viewers can see Cal and Thom’s new escapades in their Silverlake neighborhood, which involve a series of threesomes. But the quirky personalities interestingly serve to drive the couple closer together. This begs the question, how do you do that and not inspire jealousy?

“Jealousy is only interesting to a point,” says the show’s creator-writer-director Kit Williamson (“Mad Men”). So he chose to explore what happens when jealousy is “removed from the equation.”

Seems like wishful thinking, but our heroes Cal (played by Williamson, “Mad Men”) and Thom (Van Hansis, “As the World Turns”) give it a go, and have surprising success with a parade of one-nighters, at least in Web land. Everyone is satisfied, there are no hard feelings, and Cal and Thom are getting closer than ever.

“There are so many different ways human beings connect with each other, and there is no one way that is right for everybody,” says Williamson. “The show deals with many different kinds of relationships, from ex-boyfriends getting back together, to friends starting a new relationship, to a lesbian couple with two kids finally getting married.”

Joining Williamson and Hansis from the Season 1 cast are Constance Wu (“Fresh Off the Boat”), Matthew McKelligon (“You’re Killing Me”), John Halbach (“Wallflowers”), and Stephen Guarino (“Happy Endings,” “Big Gay Sketch Show”), along with Willam Belli (“Rupaul’s Drag Race”), Brianna Brown (“Devious Maids”), Lennon Parham (“Playing House”), Sean Maher (“Firefly”), Matthew Wilkas (“Gayby”), Drew Droege (the “Chloe” videos), Leith Burke (“The Haves and the Have Nots”), Jai Rodriguez, Traci Lords, “and a bunch of other cool guest stars,” according to the showrunners.

Season 2 also tackles some heavy relationship issues, such as heartbreak, infidelity and sexually transmitted diseases.

“EastSiders” has already appeared on YouTube and LogoTV.com, a subsidiary of Viacom. The feature film version of the series aired on Logo’s cable network, and then was distributed on DVD and digital platforms through Wolfe Video.

“I was inspired by the enormous success Vimeo has had with shows like “High Maintenance,” explains Williamson of his decision to move “EastSiders” to the streaming network.

Like many in my generation, I watch TV online,” he says. “As an independent filmmaker, I appreciate the autonomy streaming services afford content creators. And … crowdfunding is a game changer for stories like ours that don’t often receive traditional financing from studios and TV networks.”

Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @EastSidersTV and “Like” the show on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/EastSidersTheSeries.

Journalist Laurie Schenden covers the entertainment industry, with many of her notable celebrity interviews appearing in the Los Angeles Times and other national and international publications. As a longtime columnist and feature writer for the LA Times, she also covered events and California destinations for the lifestyle, Outdoors and Travel sections. Laurie Schenden's international pieces include the long-running Where Are They Now celebrity feature for Spotlight Magazine, published in five languages. Laurie has also contributed to numerous documentary films, and produces content via Saving Grace Films.

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