From Jason Collins and Anderson Cooper to the rise of all-digital TV series, showrunner and star Brad Bell, exec. producer Jane Espenson, and costar Sean Hemeon discuss how their small-scaled show has made an enormous impact.
Brad Bell, Sean Hemeon, and Jane Espenson at Entertainment Weekly's San Diego Comic-Con party on July 20, 2013
Chelsea Lauren / WireImage
LOS ANGELES — On a clear, balmy afternoon in a posh mini-mansion last May, Brad Bell, star of the gay marriage sitcom Husbands, was preparing himself to get sprayed with some suggestively translucent goo. It was for a climactic gag for the episode, part of Husbands' new season on the CW's new all-digital network CW Seed, and it involved a broken garbage disposal and a miscommunication between seemingly butch pro baseball player Brady (Sean Hemeon) and his seemingly less-than-butch husband Cheeks (Bell). When Cheeks looked into the disposal to investigate a worrisome gurgling sound, it was supposed to launch its contents smack onto his face.
"We were debating how chunky to make it," said Bell as the crew loads the concoction into the specially rigged disposal. "We decided to go chunk free."
When it came time to shoot the scene, exec. producer Jane Espenson (Once Upon a Time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) — who co-created Husbands with Bell, and writes all the episodes with him — stood off to the side and yelled out the "gurgling" noise that would be officially added in later in post production. Bell bravely leaned forward over the drain, the sink made a couple real gurgling noises — but nothing squirted out.
As the director called cut, Bell could not help but grin. "It happens to a lot of guys!"
Fortunately, Husbands has not had to worry about suffering from performance issues. When Bell and Espenson launched it two years ago as a web series on YouTube, it won a rave from no less than The New Yorker, and generated enough of a passionate fan base that the duo was able to raise $60,000 on Kickstarter for a second season. That season, which debuted on YouTube last year, saw a roughly 35% boost in viewership. "Everybody has access to the ability to make their own product now," says Epsenson. "It really is 'the best will thrive.' Like, whole networks are set up to guess what people are going to like. You don't have to guess anymore. You can put it up and see what they like. That's what we did. And they liked us."
Sean Hemeon and Brad Bell in Husbands
The CW
The show's audience liked it enough to catch the eye of the CW, which was hungry for good content to launch CW Seed and picked up the show for its third season. The first new episode of Husbands debuted on the digital network Thursday; you can watch it here.
When I visited the set in May, Espenson, Bell, and Hemeon were all thrilled at their show's good fortune — and were quick to correct me when I used the term "web series" within my first five minutes of arriving. "That word doesn't exist anymore," said Hemeon. "Yes, we're a series," added Espenson. Duly corrected.
Later, during their lunch break, I sat down with all three to discuss the show's trailblazing path not just in the world of digitally distributed TV series but the world of gay rights and gay visibility — Husbands' first season predicted both the legalization of gay marriage and the presence of an out pro athlete.
I was discussing with Jane earlier about how it's nice to be doing this with the CW instead of having to go back to the fans again for funding through Kickstarter. How does it feel to be in a fully funded enterprise where you don't have to worry about that anymore?
Jane Espenson: Well, you think you don't have to worry. (Laughs)
Brad Bell: I mean, it's the same. With Kickstarter, you get the money that you raise at the start of your production. The system set up by the studio is more in percentages as you move through production, and even then you have to stay on that budget. So I think there are pros and cons. The worry shifts into different areas.
Espenson: Because you don't want to waste anybody's money.
Are you still feeling independent with the story you want to tell?
Espenson: Oh, totally. No notes.
Bell: Well, we did actually get one note…
Espenson: They came to the table read, and they pulled us aside afterwards. We were like, This is it. This is when they suddenly start throwing their weight around and giving us notes. And they were like, "It's perfect!"
