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SEASON OF LOVE ❤️ PLUS NYC PREMIERE Q&A

December 10, 2019

Welcome back to another episode of What About Dat TV recap and review my name is Jen and today on the podcast I’m joined by TV PUNDIT, QUEER JOURNALIST, and author of the Destiny and Darkeness Series (which I’m currently reading)...  The lovely Karen Frost 

Karen … SAYS HI TO EVERYONE

Jen - Today we are discussing tello Films’ first movie, which just dropped December 1st. Season of Love is a lighthearted rom-com featuring an ensemble cast of diverse women and their connected love lives during the hectic holiday Christmas through New Years, who discover love truly is the best gift of all. Follow IRIS , MARDOU, LOU, KENNA, JANEY, and SUE 

Karen - The film stars in order by couples:  Mardou - Laur Allen, Iris - Emily Gross, Lou - Emily Clark , Kenna - Sandra Mae Frank, Janey -  Janelle Marie, Sue - Dominque Provost Chalkley 

Karen - Just to warn you all, beyond this point we will make a conscious effort to not spoil the film.  That said, spoilers may happen toward the the latter half of the cast. And also, come on guys, it’s a Hallmark-style movie. You know how this ends.

Karen - Look, Hallmark is an interesting genre. Traditionally, Hallmark movies have carried some subliminal cultural messaging. Busy city woman goes to a small town and rediscovers the magic of simple living when she falls in love with the local farmer. Modern career woman meets time traveling prince and discovers that it’s okay to revert to traditional female roles. For years, this genre has been VERY white, Anglo-saxon Protestant and it’s reinforced what are essentially conservative Christian values. Within the last few years there’s been a bit of a shift away from that as the genre tries to draw in non-white viewers, but ultimately viewers--who include my seventy year old father, by the way--really enjoy the predictable, by the numbers aspect of the genre. They’re not looking to be surprised by twists and turns. 

Obviously, tello’s film wasn’t going to be about reinforcing heteronormativity, but I had a suspicion that it would keep the other major trapping of the genre, which is, plainly put, a pretty non-confrontational, vanilla story about people falling in love. Two strangers or mostly strangers meet, fall in love. Boom.

Did you have favorite couple?  

Karen -  I watched with my girlfriend and we both liked Mardou and Iris best.

What did you like about this couple? 

Jen - Kenna and Lou - Lots of fun, felt like more balanced side characters Mardou and Iris both were incredibly strong. They could’ve been their own movie going experience. Janey and Sue - Felt like they had issues…

Was there a moment that took you by surprise? 

Jen - Mardou and Iris’s first kiss. Mardou under the mistletoe was one of the best moments in theater. 

Karen - The 80s themes for Kenna when Lou was looking at her. I was like, “Is this a thing that happens in Hallmark movies? Why is this happening?” I still don’t have the answer.

If you could pitch a sequel what would that look like?  

Karen - I think it would have to be all new characters, no? These characters found love. End of story for them. But I would love the sequel to go back to that traditional Hallmark style where it’s a single character finding love during the holiday season. So I’m thinking something like New York lawyer gets sentenced to probation in a soup kitchen after accidentally hitting a fire hydrant while texting and driving, learns it’s better to give than receive while falling in love with a woman who volunteers in the kitchen over the holidays.   

Do you think Tello Films achieved what they set out to do? 

Karen - Yes, but that’s not actually any surprise. Look at the romance novel industry. For both straight people and queer women, it’s the single most lucrative and largest genre. People LOVE romance. Tello saw the market gap and went for it. So if the goal was to produce a Hallmark style movie that offered three different romances in one movie, then of course it succeeded.  

Jen - Yes, I think this film is big for Tello.

Karen - In total, this movie had 586 backers on Indiegogo, raising a total of $61,157. That comes to just over $100 per backer, on average. To the queer community, I say this: content costs money. If there’s no money, it won’t get made. So I encourage listeners to think about if they’ve got even $5 to donate to causes that matter to them. Content matters to me so I prioritize it. I hope other people will do the same.  

Jen - (Over Music) - Closing Monologue

Christmas is a fantasical time of year in which the lifetime channel screens a month’s worth of heteronormative fluff to distracts us as we wrap presents, bake cookies, and decorate our homes. For one brief evening, I didn’t watch Rachel Maddow with a sinking feeling in my gut. Instead, I found myself in a room of allies and potential friends, sipping a delicious beer with a soggy hotdog and at one point during the film I looked around and the majority of people in attendance had giant grins across their faces as they watched for the first time ever their own Hallmark experience unfold on the screen. It was sweet, innocent fun and I couldn’t help but think: why did this take so long to come into existence? 

Karen - Thank you for tuning into this recap/review, please be sure to follow us on twitter at whatabout_dat, follow Karen @lezdish

Closing music 

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