Daryn Strauss & Martha Byrne Team Up With Director Frederick King Keller on Indie Comedy 'Weight'

Emmy and Indie Series Award-winning actress and producer Martha
Byrne will produce and star in the upcoming dramedy, Weight.

A brand new Indie comedy series, Weight, is on the way with three heavyweights from multiple platforms involved: Writers Guild Award-nominated digital writer and producer, Daryn Strauss (Downsized), Indie Series Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Martha Byrne (As The World Turns, Gotham), and veteran primetime network television producer and director Frederick King Keller (Crisis, 24). Weight (#weighttheseries) will begin production this summer.

The series is penned by Strauss, who was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for her hilarious and through-provoking first web series Downsized, a dramedy about middle class New Yorkers trying to adjust to the absurdities of life during the economic crisis. Byrne joins the project as star and producer with King Keller set to direct.

"I like to write shows about everyday issues that make people act nuts," Strauss says. "Weight is my latest comedy series centered on the age-old adage that weight makes people act totally crazy."

Weight picks up as Claire (played by Byrne), a middle class mom, returns home from a reality weight loss competition 100 pounds lighter but finds she's gained some extra baggage due to the mixed and sometimes absurd reactions of her dysfunctional family and friends. The smart comedy combines America's obsession with weight loss and reality television for a look at how weight can bring together and also divide people.

The dramedy examines the complications that ensue as Claire attempts to balance her new regimen and newfound fame/infamy with the realities of needy children, a stressed out husband, nosy relatives, a competitive sibling, judgmental friends, food temptations, and her own unraveling mind, as she deals with the day to day pressures of staying thin and appearing on a reality show.

"I met Daryn a few years ago at a Writers Guild event and I was instantly a fan," explains Byrne, who has won an Indie Series Award and been nominated for an Emmy for her work in the Indie space. "When I read Weight, not only did I love the characters and the writing overall, I could relate to the role of Claire and the role body image plays in my own career and life. I knew the script was something special and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."

Weight is ultimately a show about the pressures on a woman to balance her career, marriage, weight, and to raise a family in this often totally surreal, opinionated, weight-crazy country.

"I had just finished working with the very talented Martha Byrne on Crisis when she showed me the pilot script for Weight," King Keller adds. "I was immediately captivated by the humor and also by the intelligence of this project and knew I wanted to be involved."

To find out more and for updates, check out Weight on Facebook and Twitter (@weighttheseries).