Nowadays, there’s an extraordinary culture shift in film and television as fearless actors, directors and writers shy away from the typical cardboard cut out of what a show should be like. Varying from characters used as a vehicle to defy and question social norms, writing that makes us laugh, cry, or is full of adrenaline and/or suspense. Spearheads such as Game Of Thrones, How To Get With Murder and Orange Is The New Black clearly dominate the American TV industry, which is of course all good news. Nevertheless, the explosion in film and television comes with a price; the tempting restraint on time. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to fit these one hour episodes into our frantic lifestyle…
This is where High Maintenance comes in.
Critically acclaimed web-series High Maintenance was created, written, executively produced and directed by Kajta Blichfield and Ben Sinclair (who also plays the role as the lackadaisical nameless weed dealer.) Despite how the average length for each episode ranges from 5- 20 minutes their use of storytelling is brilliant and is one of the main factors that contribute to its critical acclaim. The unique selling point that High Maintenance has to offer is its length- you can easily fit their quirky yet humble episodes into those short-lived breaks in your life. In fact, it’s possible to binge watch the entire web series within a day (including the bloopers.)
Unlike many other shows that use New York as its canvas to portray the lives of ambitious New Yorkers, its scope is ubiquitous. Embracing characters full of succinct personalities – major standouts in the show are the frustrated cross-dressing writer Colin (Dan Stevens), asexual magician Evan (Avery Monsen), agoraphobic Helen Hunt-obessesed Patrick (Michael Cyril Ceighton) and fitness zealot Scott (Jordan Dean).
Many of the characters make recurrent appearances in the show and it becomes obvious that the nameless weed dealer is merely the glue in a complex web of characters full of idiosyncrasies- even through the subtle name references. The writing in High Maintenance is raw and honest, containing themes such as loneliness, trauma and dealing with cancer. Ultimately, it can be argued that High Maintenance is one of the many underdogs in the American media industry but recently after the praise following the web series, High Maintenance has taken a daring step, being commissioned by HBO who are now ordering six television episodes to premiere in 2016. This puts the entire cast of High Maintenance onto a well deserved platform. In light of the approval High Maintenance earned, Blichfield and Sinclair have created the show that many American creators yearn to make- with heartbreaking moments injected with philosophical debates or quirky conversations aided with (and sometimes without) the assistance of stimulants and with rewarding moments. They’ve created the show that perfectly reflects the lives of New Yorkers and life itself.
Words by Ethan H-L