Toronto , ON Hop To It President & “Sloppy Jones” Producer Susan Nation, is pleased to confirm that the first six episodes of Season 1 of their award-winning short-form series, “Sloppy Jones”, will be available on OUTtv.com in Canada, Australia and the US and on froot.tv in the UK and Ireland from August 4th, 2022.
Sloppy Jones was born out of a desire to create interesting queer lead roles for queer actors written by queer writers. Historically, LGBTQ+ representation in film and TV has been lacking, both in front of and behind the camera, especially in the slasher genre.
“As a female independent producer working with a fresh young writer/actor team, making a short-form digital series was the most feasible way to share this escapist, but weirdly relatable slasher comedy and the quirky queer protagonists. I think the 18-39 audience will love them and OUTtv.com is the ideal platform.” Susan Nation
In the series, creators and stars Sophie Nation, Jamie Hart and Jonathan Neil Alexander, explore their experiences as servers and bartenders, struggling with bills, relationships, customers and occasional bad bosses, through a camp comedic lens. The look, tone and stories are inspired by their love of 90’s movies, work-place comedies and slashers like Scream.
Sophie commented “I’ve worked in restaurants where almost every employee was queer, so it made sense to me to draw from my own experience. I love horror and comedy because both genres really make you feel strong emotions and force you to be present. The combo is exciting to work with as a writer and an actor.”
Jonathan added “The series has been such a thrill. The writing team had an absolute blast crafting this wild little world and I’m so excited to finally be able to share it. Sloppy really has a little bit of everything. There’s comedy, drama, slash, camp, and irony. Working with Amanda Walsh, as well as Linda Kash and Colin Mochrie, two Canadian comedy legends, was a joy!”
The series follows the lives of the flawed protagonists Rory Woods (Sophie Nation) a free-spirited people pleaser; Harper Shelley (Jamie Hart) a book-smart, bisexual bartender; and Thomas Collins (Jonathan Neil Alexander) a calculating b*tch; working at the Sloppy Jones Grill for deadbeat boss Frank Jones (Colin Mochrie). This Unholy Trinity’s world is upended when they discover Frank’s severed torso in the freezer just as Deborah Jones (Linda Kash), his estranged ex-wife, makes a perfectly timed entrance into their lives. Caught red-handed with the torso by terrified customer and wine heiress Cassie Ley (Lory Mpiana), they each look guilty, and no one is safe until the trio find out who killed Frank…and who will they kill next.
Jamie commented “I’ve always wanted to be a Final Girl. It was so exciting to get to write something like that for myself. Harper’s a final girl and she’s screaming, but she’s also doing shots! When people watch it I want them to laugh and I want them to think, ‘These people are not good at crime.’ I think there’s such a relatability in the kind of story where the protagonist has no clue what’s going on and makes mistakes in high stakes situations. There’s humor there, for sure, but also anxiety. Whether you’re watching someone stumble their way through bartending or totally flop at disposing of a body you can think, ‘Oh God. Same.'”
Award-winning filmmaker Emily Cohn (CRSHD) directed Episodes 1-5. Talented mentor Winnifred Jong (Tokens) directed Episode 6 (the original pilot teaser episode).
Hop To It counted on the support of the CMF, OUTtv and Ontario Creates during development and production.
The series has been rocking the web festival circuit with over 30 selections, nominations and wins, including most recently at home at TO Webfest. See Awards page: https://sloppyjonesshow.com/
Trailer and YouTube channel: Sloppy Jones Trailer
Website sloppyjonesshow.com
Instagram: @sloppyjonesshow
Facebook: @sloppyjonesshow
Twitter: @showsloppy
TikTok: @sloppyjones
GIPHY (100 million views): @HopToItProductions
Hashtags: #sloppyjonesshow #whokilledfrank #billssexandmurder #summerslasher
