Ben Zook, one of the three
actor-producers of the web comedy series Where The Bears Are,
says the series is based on their lives.
The August 1 premiere of Where The
Bears Are on YouTube and Vimeo has racked up more than 160,000
views. In the comedy series, three gay roommates attempt to solve
the murder of a man who turns up dead in their Silver Lake,
California bathroom the day after a birthday party.
Reggie (played by Rick Copp), Wood (Joe
Dietl) and Nelson (Ben Zook) each claim to have no recollection of
meeting the man lying in their tub.
In an interview with Frontiers LA,
Zook said the co-creators identify as “bears” and that the series
is an exaggerated version of their own lives.
“Joe Dietl and I are partners who
live in Silver Lake, and Rick lives downtown and part-time in Palm
Springs,” said
Zook. “We love going to bear functions around the country, so
yes, we drew a great deal from our real lives. But the show is a
comedy/murder mystery, so it's pretty wacky in comparison to our real
lives. Our own lives aren't nearly as sexy or exciting. Rick Copp
and I are actually playing very exaggerated versions of ourselves.
However, Rick, who wrote the show, isn't nearly as mean as his
character Reggie is. And I'd like to think I'm not as deluded in
real life as my character, Nelson. However, Joe Dietl is as dumb as
his character, Wood, is in real life. [Laughs] Just kidding.”
(The first episode of Where The
Bears Are is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)