Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie, Chapter 8

by Leesa Dean

A lot of exciting stuff is going on. The biggie: Chilltown was listed by ABCNews/Univision as Web Series That Should Be On Your Radar!!!!! And we got an incredible review! Ecstatically happy about it. Also, did a ton of fun radio including Geek Soul Brother,Educated Insanity (on ChicagolandsportsRadio), The Bobby Pickles Show and KRYC Rhythm 105.9 FM !! Also released Episode 6 of Chilltown and people are telling me they love it. In spite of all that, there’s still a bit of frustration that always boils down to the same thing: How can I get more people to watch? We’re still a very tiny show in an enormous pool. Have a lot of plans in place for additional shows and specials that (hopefully) will make a little noise. But it’s a tough tough game. Much tougher than I expected. But, in all, a really good week.

And I heard from Rollo. Last Friday, went to another YouTube meeting and it was great! Met some cool people plus got to see the YouTube studios at Next New Networks NYC. Very exciting. They have a couple of green screen studios with pro lights and cameras. Some of the collabs I’m involved with will probably be done there. Part of the meeting involved having a tour and being shown the ropes (a prerequisite to using their space.) Their computers are probably a billion times faster than mine, so can’t wait to do some editing there. A guy name Chris Chan Roberson runs stuff there and he’s great. They had pizza and drinks after and everybody was schmoozing and just like clockwork right towards the end, my phone rings. Guess who? Rollo happens to be in the area and we meet.

He’s been having meetings to get his other project back on track and serenades me with more stories of excess and glitz. He’s been using every connection he has to rope in another MAJOR CELEBRITY (!!) to prove his relevance but things haven’t gone as planned. The week before he abruptly flew out to LA to attend a hipper-than-thou dinner party in a sad last ditch effort to hang on by his fingertips. A minor mix of dps, on-the-rise actors, Interscope execs and big shots from Vice and UTA. But nobody bit. His shine is gone. He’s used up most of his money. He cuts to the chase.

He knows someone who works at a cable network. It’s a long shot but they might be interested in Chilltown. Did I want to push up the schedule and take a meeting?

Author: ChilltownTV

I'm primarily a writer. Sold a few series to tv networks and production companies but never had anything get on the air. So I taught myself how to animate and completed 3 digital series, launching two. The first, Chilltown has been named one of "Five Web Series That Should Be on Your Radar" by ABCNews/Univision and a "Show to Watch" by Tubefilter. The second, Lele's Ratchet Advice Show, garnered a fanatic cult following. As a result, I now do Lele's 60 Second Wrap Up, a weekly comedic entertainment report (which I write & perform) that airs on urban radio stations Rhythm 105.9fm and the Just Wake Up Morning Show on WWRNfm. View all posts by ChilltownTV