INDIE SOAP BEAT: December 9, 2009

In this week's "Indie Soap Beat" feature, we take a look at the latest happenings from around the world of independent soap opera production.


VENICE premiered on Friday night to mostly rave reviews. There were some issues with the website, much discussion about the $9.99 subscription price and lots of hype but in the end the show did a pretty good job of delivering. And it was also a "ratings" success. The show has been viewed over 86,000 times, received numerous YouTube honors and is still receiving them. The next episode will air Friday night and it will be interesting to see the response as the seasonal subscription kicks in. It will also be interesting to see how quickly the show is pirated around the web and how the show handles and prevents that. If you thought coming up with a workable business model was hard... UPDATE: VENICE has moved their second episode to Friday, December 18. The show will air a new teaser and behind the scenes footage this Friday instead.


GOTHAM aired its second episode on Monday night and we saw the debut of Maeve Kinkead as Dinah and Margaret Reed as Sheila. Both ladies are looking better than ever. Do they ever age? There was a bit more story development as Catherine and Richard had a brief encounter before Dinah swept them and Tina into the heard of the St. Jude party. Martha Byrne and Anne Sayre still have the same dynamic chemistry as Catherine and Tina that they had playing Rose and Mitzi on AS THE WORLD TURNS. Look for the next new episode on Monday, December 21. If you missed the We Love Soaps announcement that the amazing Melanie Smith is joining the cast, you can read it here along with our exclusive interview.


We Love Soaps attended a read through for season two of EMPIRE over the weekend. The script is excellent and the show is sure to be bigger and better when it returns in Spring 2010. Production begins next month. Toby Levin (Jake) previewed: "I'm very excited about the second season. The Haven family is a fun thing to be a part of and I'm excited to dig in deeper into their lives." Look for several interviews with the cast in the coming weeks.


The fourth episode of PPP, "Dirty Little Secrets," is now online. We Love Soaps recently spoke with the show's creators Tai Fauci and Jack Monroe. You can read our interview here.


With the season wrapped up, Lawrence Saint-Victor and Karla Mosley released a behind the scenes video post-mortem of the show. Check it out here.


Seven episodes have now been posted of the new web soap ANACOSTIA. The show takes place in DC's Anacostia community neighborhood. You can catch up here.

"The show is escapism," oroducer/writer Anthony Anderson told Examiner.com. “It shows Anacostia in a completely different way that I don’t think people get a chance to see. People usually see 'local teen gets shot', but, they don’t see everyday that there are people out there working, striving and have great lives."


If you haven't watched the trailer for RELATIONSHIPS, which is set to debut in early 2010, you can find it .


Episode #9 of FANTASY OVER REALITY, "Crying Is Not His Forte," is still playing on the show's website. Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte was the special guest. Check out previous episodes to see THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS actress Vail Bloom.


It's not really "indie" but BET.com's BUPPIES is getting much critical acclaim. The show stars former THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS actress Tatyana Ali and former AS THE WORLD TURNS actor Earnest Waddell. The third episode, "Stilettos We Lost in the Fire," is now online.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can find all our indie soap coverage at IndieSoapBeat.com.