4 Underrated Web Series You Should Watch

I love you, NewTeeVee Station readers, but sometimes I suspect that you aren’t listening to me when I tell you that a show is AWESOME. So, in honor of our humble Station’s 1-year anniversary (betcha didn’t realize it’d been a whole year, did you?) I went through our 4-star and 5-star reviews to put together a collection of some of my favorite shows that remain slightly obscure.

Sean and Jilly Move In
This fauxumentary about a dysfunctional couple forced to move in together is full of sly, Office-esque awkward comedy. Here’s the happy couple looking for a new place to live.

What I said then: They’re that couple who don’t really enjoy being together, but are never truly unhappy enough to break up, a caricature pushed to the extreme but easily recognizable nonetheless.

The District
Newsweek took a teenybopper approach to covering Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office; the series wrapped with nine episodes of pure Hills-esque pleasure. The season finale is below.

What I said then: Once you get past the fact that Newsweek decided to mock MTV (which is kind of like George F. Will starting a blog to mock Britney Spears), The District is pretty much pure pleasure.

Project: Rant
This crowd-sourced web series gives a voice to the petty frustrations of modern life, using quality production values and gifted actors to perform rants on problems like straight girls who go to gay clubs.

What I said then: When the audience identifies with the speaker, there’s a sort of second-hand catharsis that occurs. Just because it’s not our frustration or embarrassment, it doesn’t dull the vicarious thrill of finally getting to let it out.

Grass Roots
This indie series debuted in May with a fresh take on the tough world of political campaigns, and was picked up by Koldcast for distribution shortly thereafter.

What I said then: It’s not exactly a love song to politics, but serves instead as a reminder that political campaigns aren’t just scandals and grand speeches, but hard work and shoe leather, too.