Polyamory in the News
. . . by Alan M.



October 9, 2006

Polly & Marie:
Poly TV sitcom in the works?!

Reid Mihalko, co-founder of the Cuddle Party phenomenon, posts this exciting news:


New poly TV show looking for a home
and your help


Date: Oct 8, 2006

Dear poly peeps!

A few years ago, I co-created an idea for a sex- and relationship-based television show about the lives of a group of neighbors in alternative relationships and the comedy that stems from "living outside the box." I named it Polly & Marie, a play on the term polyamory.

The intention of the show was and still is to get more positive examples of alternative lovestyles out into the public consciousness. Well, the pilot for this half-hour dramedy has actually been filmed and edited and is now being shopped around for a home on the small screen!

And as great as this news is, I'm contacting you for your support and your feedback...

YOUR SUPPORT:

1) Please go watch the trailer by clicking on
http://www.pollyandmarie.com/General/.

2) Go to the show's MySpace page: (http://myspace.com/pollyandmarie)
and either become a friend or sign the guest book: (http://www.pollyandmarie.com/Guestbook/)
so that the producers can show the studio execs that x-number of people are actually interested in watching a show like this.

3) Forward along to your networks and peers and friends news regarding Polly & Marie.

4) If you happen to know someone who might be able to help get Polly & Marie on the air, or help build the buzz, please send me an email at reid@cuddleparty.com .

YOUR FEEDBACK:

Let me know what you think. I've been pretty hands-off on the project after the initial script rewrites, and your thoughts and suggestions will be invaluable as Polly & Marie moves forward.

There's never been a show like this. With everyone's help and feedback, getting more examples of what is possible in relationships on TV can become a reality!

Love and great TV,

REiD
reid@cuddleparty.com


And here is more description of the show:


Polly & Marie is a scripted half-hour dramedy revolving around the love lives of a 30-something interracial, polyamorous couple, Scott and Rebecca McCaw, who have agreed to open up their marriage to see other people, and the sexual and relationship highjinx of their fellow alternative life styled friends and neighbors: Bartholomew and Ernesto, a monogamous gay couple, one of whom, is still closeted to his family, and the frustrated, single, sexy, and celibate lipstick lesbian, Faith, who is the surrogate mother to the gay couple's son.

Also featured are: Kevin, a gospel hip hop recording artist, who happens to be Rebecca's brother, Bell, a serial monogamist who is widow to seven husbands and may lose the eighth at any moment and Judge Eve Landers, a well-known, conservative federal court judge (Rebecca's Mother).

Victoria Rowell (Rebecca)
Dimitri Lekkos (Scott)
T.C. Carson (Bartholomew)
Ivo Cutzarida (Ernesto)
Natalie Raitano (Faith)
Kel Michell (Kevin)
Beth Grant (Bell)
Daphne Maxwell Reid (Judge Landers)
Jack Merrill (Jackson White)
Denise Vaughn (Gillian White)

Created by Reid Mihalko and Kalla Brousard

----------------------------------
REiD Mihalko
Sex and Relationship Educator, Co-creator of Cuddle Party
email: reid@cuddleparty.com
office: 212.737.6368 • fax: 940.403.1863
Atlas Spooned • PO Box 1127, NY, NY 10021
www.cuddleparty.com


There's a discussion at the LiveJournal Polyamory Community here.

I sent Reid the following comments:
-----------------------------------------------------------
I concur with what other people are saying — don't let this become just a titillating Sex and the City knockoff. Poly is about relationships and love. It's about people who work to make it work (or maybe don't but should). People with big hearts who want other big hearts, not just big whatevers (though, yeah, there's a place for those too). Kind, generous people who want not just a hot night, but a warm breakfast. Even if they have to get up at 6 a.m. to start the pancakes for everybody.

In other words: "Keep the Amory in Polyamory!"

(I hope that goes up on someone's wall.)
-----------------------------------------------------------

To which he replied,


The show's comedy and titillation will grow out of a foundation of big hearted characters trying their best to be authentic, and Scott, BTW, would definitely be that guy getting up at 6 am to fire up the griddle.

I love the "Keep the Amory in Polyamory!" too.


Similarly, he explains the group-grope scene in the trailer in a longer post to the Polyfamilies Yahoo Group.

Let's do what we can to make this show happen. This could be big.

Update, March 2009: At the recent Poly Living Conference, Reid said "HBO almost bought" the show. It is still looking for a network.

He also said that in the television industry, "There's a lot of interest in getting this [topic] on TV, but nobody is quite biting, because nobody knows if the advertisers will want it. It's kind of happening, but you don't see it yet, because it's not on the air yet."

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4 Comments:

Blogger Wolfger said...

Horrible website, and a video that won't play on Firefox/Linux (sound only). I give it an "A" for concept, "C" for effort, and "D" for implementation. Needs better website (at the very least, a solid color background), a downloadable video in a cross-platform format, and distribution (YouTube, GoogleVideo, etc).

October 09, 2006 8:42 PM  
Blogger Alan said...

The video plays fine in Firefox for me. There is a YouTube link for it if you prefer, under the photo.

October 11, 2006 9:32 AM  
Blogger Marti said...

I think this is awful. The trailer represents polyfuckery...not polyamory.

October 13, 2006 4:44 PM  
Blogger Alan said...

I think this is awful. The trailer represents polyfuckery...not polyamory.

Reid explains the group-grope scene, and why it's in the trailer, in the link provided at the end of the post. In case you can't receive Yahoo groups, here's the relevant part:

"The group grope scene you refer to -- which, in the actual episode, is a flashback scene from a Spin The Bottle Party the couple attended as their first dip into opening up their relationship (and it's made very obvious that neither of them had sex that night, but that Scott did make out with six women) -- and its impression that it's all about sex, sex, sex -- gets resolved in the episode; and is, in fact, one of the things about Scott and Rebecca's relationship(s): that they're not about sex, sex, sex.

Modifying the trailer and toning down the "sex sells" aspect won't get the producers to view the entire show, which is what we need them to do to actually "get" what the show is actually about.

...Also, since it's Scott and Rebecca's first foray into poly, I think it's fair for them to think it's about, or feels like it's about, sex as they get their footing. For this reason, the trailer, though maybe playing on polyfolks' fears and middle America's fantasies, may actually be accurate. Scott and Rebecca's journey (and hopefully the non-poly audience's as well) is one of self-discovery and education. They'll need to grow past seeing open relationships as equating open season on sex."

(BTW, Reid mentions that he didn't do the trailer himself.)

October 13, 2006 5:05 PM  

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