This week we are rereleasing “Meet the Mayfarers” in a longer, sitcom length fashion.

I did this for a lot of reasons. The number one reason is that the Internet has changed considerably since I was first conceiving and shooting the show in 2007. The rule was “short form ruled.” I decided to do something told entirely in short form bite sized pieces. But in recent years, as people have grown accustomed to watching shows online, it seems as if some audiences actually prefer the longer content. With Apple TV, Google TV, and the Roku box – it seems like everyone wants a “lean back” online experience.  Also, I’ve heard complaints from some people who want to watch the entire run of the show – that they have to wade through dozens of pre-roll ads to actually watch the show.

So I thought – why create this barrier to entry? Why not serve up the show in a totally new way than it was before, and hopefully gain some viewers while we’re at it.

In looking at the old episodes I thought – “well, really, they weren’t designed as long form, but I could easily put them into sitcom length format. I mean, that’s what the show is, really.” I knew it has been so long, in Internet time, since we had our last new episode, that really people need to start from the beginning to latch onto the show.

So starting today and for the next few weeks, we’ll have the “Mayfarers Mega Show” released. They’ll be six episodes total, comprising of the longer story arcs of the show. It doesn’t include the stand alone episodes, the “Chronicles” about solo characters, nor does it include our very bizarre holiday episodes. These are simply the show episodes – redone in way that hopefully makes you want to watch more.

So, now, sit back…lean back, grab a bottle of your favorite beverage and see how it all started. Thanks for watching! And please stick around for the launch of our brand new season on Feb. 23rd!

And….we’re back! After many sketches, some involving Baristas, animal mascots, and raw meat — the family is back with a real-honest-to-god New Episode.

It wasn’t supposed to take this long. As I mentioned before, the original goal was for the show to launch and new episodes would come every week for a full year. We almost made it. But filming new episodes, and just life in general got in the way. But we’re going to make up for it.

So – what does the New Year look like for the Mayfarers? We’ll have a special sneak peek episode of Season 3 – starting this week with “A Very Mayfarers New Year.”

January will consist of a few more sketches as well as a re-release of some of Season 1 & 2.

Season 3 will launch on Wednesday, February 2nd – On Groundhog Day. Sadly, This will not be a Groundhog Day episode. My apologies for that.

Once the show is relaunched we will have new episodes – every week for the rest of the year. (Perhaps taking the month of August off – if the Europeans can do it – so can the Mayfarers)

Thank you everyone for your patience and I’m looking forward to sharing these new episodes with you in the New Year!

Today – after many months on hiatus, the Mayfarers are back!

But this isn’t the new season. For the next few months we’ll have sketches, behind the scenes, and general tomfoolery every week, for the rest of the year.

I’ve written many times before how making this show brought back my love of filming. How we all feel like kids in the sandbox making this.

As someone who had been use to the rigorous world of independent film making – creating a webseries was a revelation. When we started doing this we found ourselves finishing early. We not only “made the day” but we’d find that we had hours and hours of daylight still available. I was used to 20 hour film shooting marathons, so this was a welcome surprise.

So – knowing this – I started writing small sketches. Just little goofy pieces that have nothing to do with the show. And so, as we shot the show over the year – when we finished early, and had an extra hour or two, we’d all just do these little shorts. Fake commercials. Parodies. As long as it was fun, we tried it. There are no rhyme or reason to these. Nor do they tie into the plot of the show at all. They’re just for fun. Same actors, different material.

For me I find it special watching these, in particular – as I can see, on screen, me falling in love with filming once again.

So – with that in mind – take them for what they are. Goofy little behind the scenes vignettes of what we do to have fun – on a shoot where we’re already having the time of our lives.

Candace Hopkins, who played Maggie in the show, has passed away. It seems so unreal, as we were just shooting episodes with her six weeks ago. She has been fighting her battle with cancer for years. I’ve been amazed at her strength and perseverance over her ordeal. But, even more amazing – her enthusiastic embracing of life. The days with her on the set echoed with her infectious laughter and upbeat spirit.

What many people didn’t know was that she has been going through chemo the past few years, and was in such pain. I kept saying to her – “Candace, you don’t have to come to the shoot, seriously! I can write around you.” But she wouldn’t have it. In fact, as the show progressed, she was in the show just as much as before she was sick. Most times, because of her upbeat attitude, it was easy to forget the hell she had been going through. Only brief moments, small signs and hints of pain would show themselves, after a particularly long take standing up for instance. It was at these times I tried to get her to sit down. She said, “I want to be here.” She was enjoying herself so.

Candace said the most amazing part of watching the show as they were released, was seeing her physical transformation as the show progressed. To see her weight loss, and then see her as she battled cancer. It’s easy to forgot how much time as passed. A running joke with all of the cast members over the years has been the duration of the shoot. (On and off, for two and a half years) I kept saying to everyone, “We’re almost done, we’re almost done! Keep at it!” I think Candace was glad that she was able to finish out shooting the series. I am proud to have had those moments working with her.

I am saddened today. I feel privileged to have worked with her these past few years on the show. And I am inspired by her strength.

She will be missed.

It’s been a few weeks now since we wrapped up Season 2. Strange to have a Wednesday go by not releasing episodes. But not to worry, “Meet the Mayfarers” will return. Season 3 will be double sized, bigger than season 1 & 2 combined. My initial goal was to release the show every week for a full year, uninterrupted, but in thinking it over, I eventually decided to take a step back, spend time editing all of season 3, and then come back in the fall with another full batch of episodes.

That’s not to say the show, or our site will be taking a break. Starting next month, we’ll have sketches, shorts, and bloopers released on a regular basis. They won’t be episodes, but hopefully they’ll be able to have little bites of the Mayfarers Madness, to hold you over until the full course this fall.

I’ll be posting more details about the summer schedule as the weeks go back. Thanks so much for watching the show!

We’re shooting new episodes of “Meet the Mayfarers” all weekend.

It’s great being back on set – with all the actors and crew. Everyone knows their characters, and is already “in the groove.” Also – we’re having a few new additional characters as well. So far its been a lot of fun.

The nature of our show’s release pattern is strange. We’ve been laughing about the fact that the episodes we’re shooting today won’t “air” for another year – and that the episode that’s up this week we shot a year and a half ago.

Time flies when you’re having fun.

I’ve been saying for a while now that this weekend is the “final Mayfarers” shoot – and, for the most part, it probably will be. Once you see how the show ends – you’ll see there’s a lot of possibilities for spin offs about individual characters – so, who knows what the future will bring.

But one thing is certain, this will be the last time the family will be back together, shooting our shows in a cottage by the sea…

So Season 2 of “Meet the Mayfarers” launches today.

Of course, this being on the web, there’s really no pressing need for “Seasons.” The only time it really matters is if say, a show is launched for a few episodes, then they stop for a long period of time, get new funding or ad sponsorships, and then come back.  But this being the web – there can be all sorts of different approaches.

I set out to show “a year in the life of the family” and I shot a year’s worth of content. So then really, why did break I it up? Shouldn’t Season 2 be “Year 2″ of the family – after they do, or don’t, get the money?

To be honest I’m just trying to test this out.

For my part, I know that I always feel I miss something if I jump into a show late into the game. Even if I know the characters and plot, when I see the number 16 or 20 it always makes me think I should start from episode 1. And then there’s never enough time to watch all the episodes, they keep piling up and soon you find yourself never watching that show. So some web shows I never get around to watching simply because they have episode numbers in the hundreds. I feel as if I will never catch up.

I don’t want this to happen to Mayfarers, so I decided to reboot – and start episode 1 of season 2. My thinking is that it would be easier for new people to jump on seeing “Episode 1″ in the title rather than “Episode 24.” But I could be wrong. This whole online releasing shows thing is overall an experiment.

The other thing I’m trying this season are smaller story arcs. So by the end of the season instead of being on episode 16 again, they will be smaller arcs – it will only go to episode 8 or so, with the rest being three or four part stories.  Again – this is all experimenting. What methods do you like?

In anycase, however you watch it, I hope you check out season 2 of “Meet the Mayfarers.”

And really, if you are totally crammed for time – you don’t need to watch season one. The plot’s simple really. If you haven’t seen the show, all you need to know is that the family is forced to be together for a year to get an inheritance – and my character, the son, had a one night stand with his dead grandfather’s fiancee, on the day he died – which she uses to blackmail him……..

hmmm………

On second thought…that does sound fairly wrong. Maybe you should just watch the Recap.

2010 has me really excited. There’s new shows to release, new shows to shoot, new friends to meet, and experiences to have. 2010 is the year that web video is really going to break out.

This week I’m in the final stages of editing Season 2 of “Meet the Mayfarers.” I’m excited to launch the new episodes. I hope you’ll join us for the ride. Here’s a pic of the Mayfarers clan, from a future episode.

Thanks for all your support!

I thought I wasn’t going to be one of those people who start a blog and then let it drift into the netherworld. However, here we are and its been quite a while since I’ve posted. All for good reason – I’ve been very busy on some exciting new projects.

And now – the year is winding down, as is “Season 1″ of “Meet the Mayfarers.” Of course, the gap between seasons won’t be that long. We’ll be back up and running next month, with a new episode every Wednesday. Season 2 of the show will be bigger, with  more guest stars, crazier situations, even stranger animal mascot costumes, and a few surprising revelations.

Thank you to everyone who has watched and supported us over these past few months.

Happy Holidays!

Today “Meet the Mayfarers” moves in a new direction. This is our first Holiday Episode – “A Very Maryfarers Halloween.” Given that the show takes place over a whole year I wanted to showcase the various milestones and holidays the family would encounter. I was inspired by the many cartoon holiday specials I had seen growing up – from Charlie Brown to the Simpsons.

A key thing to remember is that these episodes really have nothing to do with the chronology of the story. Even though the show veers towards the fairly bizarre, I wanted to have a group of episodes where I had the freedom to pretty much do anything. And as you’ll see as the holidays progress, the shows definitely do not take place in any kind of real world. This is a point of key importance when we get to the Thanksgiving special. In some cases they blatantly ignore some of the chronology, especially parts of the Halloween episode.

And as an added bonus, they are usually doubled sized episodes – really their own short films. So sit back and enjoy the show. And keep posted for other holiday themed “Mayfarers”episodes down the line!