Teenagers (web series)

Background

Teenagers initially attracted media attention because its cast included several Degrassi stars, most notably Chloe Rose, who went on to be nominated for a number of awards including Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series by the International Academy of Web Television. The popular Canadian industry journal Playback published a piece on the series, writing: "the young creators of Teenagers had to have plenty of luck, pluck, talent and grit to get this far. And that portends a Hollywood ending."

Murray began working on the concept in 2013 when he was 19 and in film school. Emmanuel Kabongo served as executive producer for the first season, in addition to acting in the series. The first two seasons of the series were filmed in and around Toronto and Mississauga on a shoe-string budget. When interviewed about his inspirations for Teenagers, Murray said:

Murray has also cited Larry Clark's 1995 film Kids as an inspiration for the series.

Plot

The series presents various storylines and characters in the form of vignettes. In season one, the central storylines revolve around Bree (played by Chloe Rose), who loses her virginity to someone with chlamydia, and T (played by Emmanuel Kabongo), who struggles with racism and bullying. In its second season, the series focused more on LGBT characters and themes.

Recurring

Season 1

The series premiered on a dedicated YouTube channel in early 2014. Its release was covered by online blogs as well as traditional media outlets in Toronto, including CP24 and Global News. Upon release, it was voted #1 in the 'Indie Series Of The Week' poll by WeLoveSoaps.com users for the week of January 19 to 25, 2014. The first season screened at festivals around the world, winning two awards at the 2014 Los Angeles Web Series Festival.

Season 2

For the second season of the series, Orphan Black television director T.J. Scott served as executive producer and Garrett Hnatiuk, who portrays the character Porky, served as a co-writer. The first episode of the second season premiered on July 26, 2015, and has since been viewed over 3 million times on YouTube. shedoesthecity.com wrote: "Unhindered by politics and the rules of big networks, Teenagers pushes boundaries ... tackling tough themes like racial issues, violence, STDs, drug abuse and family heartache in a raw and real way, reminding us of the early years of Degrassi ... For a web series, the cinematography and post production is slick and impressive."

Season 3

On November 16, 2016, a 20 minute "prologue" episode was released on YouTube, alongside an Indiegogo campaign, seeking funds to complete the third season.

Reception

Teenagers has received positive reviews from blogs and indie publications, and has frequently been compared to the Degrassi franchise and the UK TV series Skins. It holds an average user rating of 8.0/10 on IMDb.

NOW Magazine wrote: "because it’s not held hostage by the same rules as big network television shows, it pushes the boundaries." Patrick Dennis Jr. of Urbanology Magazine called it "Degrassi meets HBO." Susie Stone of culturestarved.com wrote: "I saw humans. Shattering and trembling, but at times so quiet and beautifully real. I saw short spurts of what is really happening in the teen world. This series is evocative, sweet, daring, and scary." TalkNerdyWithUs.com wrote: "If the story elements of sex, drugs, and wild parties sound too familiar, don’t worry — the joy of Teenagers lies in its execution, where psychological honesty is the name of the game."

In 2016, the series was nominated for several awards. Murray and Hnatiuk won the award for Best Screenplay at the Vancouver Web Series Festival and Ablack won the Indie Series Award for Best Supporting Actor – Drama. Kabongo was nominated for Best Performance in a Series Produced for Digital Media by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for his role in the second season.

As of January 2017, Teenagers has amassed millions of views across various online platforms, and over 25,000 subscribers on YouTube.