Viewers are cheering the premiere
episode of the web series EastSiders.
EastSiders features Emmy-nominated Van
Hansis (As the World Turns) and Stephen Guarino (Happy
Endings, Bear City).
The dark comedy takes a look at the
lives of Cal (played by Kit Williamson) and Thom (Hansis), who live
together in Silverlake, California.
In the premiere episode released
Friday, Cal learns that Thom has been cheating on him with Jeremy
(Matthew McKelligon) and that his best friend Kathy (Constance Wu) is
engaged to a man she does not want to marry.
Cal and Kathy commiserate on their
relationships over drinks.
“If I give up on this relationship,
Chick-Fil-A wins,” Cal tells Kathy.
“Yeah, but how can you possibly trust
him again?”
“Maybe I can. Maybe that just has to
be okay.”
“Wow,” Kathy responds. “Love is
dead because you just killed it.” (The video is embedded on this
page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Response to the premiere episode on
YouTube has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It's got a great style and look, but
feels so real at the same time,” SnapeGirlUSA wrote. “Everyone
is top-notch. Kit won me over with his teary eyes in the end. He's
got a fan for life!”
“I can't wait to see the rest!”
Orellefrance wrote.
Williamson, also the series' writer and
director, said he created EastSiders because he was frustrated by the
lack of flawed gay characters.
“I wanted to create gay characters
with the same complexity and flaws straight characters are allotted,”
he said. “The way gay couples are depicted is often frustrating to
me. There's a huge spectrum of lifestyles and experiences within the
gay community and I wanted to explore a kind of relationship that
isn't often represented.”
(On the Net: EastSidersTheSeries.com.)