A few days ago, a notification popped up in my subscription box on YouTube that KindaTV was starting up a new webseries. Pot Luck follows a group of friends who meet up for a weekly pot luck and decide to use that time going forward to try to find something more. The series is coming out in batches of three on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, starting this past Tuesday.
Episode one, “The Pact,” introduces us to main characters. Debs, who hasn’t slept with anyone in six years, Mel, who can’t go more than a week without sleeping with someone, and Beth, who has a co-dependent relationship with her mother. The three come up with the titular pact: for Mel not to be allowed to sleep with someone until Debs breaks her dry spell, and for Beth to have a conversation with her mother.
In Episode two, “You Promised You’d Try,” we’re introduced to Mel’s job as a bartender, and Debs as a security officer. Mel goads Debs into trying to get out and see people, which is met with Debs lack of success when she does indeed, try. It is then revealed that the conversation Beth needs to have with her mother is to come out to her.
Finally Episode three, “Do you Eat Meat,” invites in two new characters to evening potluck, with the hopes that Debs will make a move on one of them to give Mel some reprieve. This of course, leads to the comedy of errors as the younger guests to the potluck assume something much more daring than what was actually intended. The whole episode ends with no one getting what they want.
These episodes are longer than the average webseries, which average between three to five minutes, and at close to 9 minutes an episode, “Pot Luck” allows for visual development in a way that others don’t. Instead of the fast talking vlog style, there is a built sense of atmosphere that gives both the characters and audience room to breathe. The opening shots of the city skyline, the framing of the inside of an apartment, offer visual interest and scope to the narrative.
This series so far has much more mature humor than other KindaTV offerings. All of the main characters seem to be in their late twenties or early thirties, which allows for a slightly more television tone, which I really liked. The focus on queer women’s stories is always a delight, and the characters, whether awkward, domineering or just plain uptight are funny and warm.
So far, I’m enjoying the taste of “Pot Luck” I’ve had, and I’ll be sure to come around Thusday for another bite.
