Oftentimes, the best comic material seems, at first, to be the worst comic material. Take bulimia, for example: doesn’t seem very funny. But the test of a truly talented comedian is turning what seems like depressing stuff into enlightening comedy. Such is the case with the upcoming web series The Skinny, which will tell the very funny story of a recovering bulimic.
Specifically, the series will see “feminist wannabe YouTube star” Jessie (Jessie Kahnweiler) deal with her body issues — specifically, according to the official release, her “love handles” — as well as the people she surrounds herself with daily. It will co-star Ileana Douglas as Jessie’s mom, as well as Spencer Hill, Ryan Pinkston, Megan Ferguson, Sadie Calvano and Paul Dooley.
The series is written and directed by (and influenced by the true story of) Kahnweiler, and the first 10-minute episode will debut on Refinery29 in partnership with Jill Solloway’s Wifey.TV on January 27. It will also screen at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It was funded, in-part, via Kickstarter.
Watch a teaser/the Kickstarter video for The Skinny below: