Monsters in Hollywood? ‘Typecast’ is a New Comedy Webseries Exploring the Possibilities

Hollywood is full of all types of people, but what happens when there more than just humans in the mix? Typecast is a proposed comedy that follows a trio of actors who are just trying to get by — finding roles and paying the bills. The problem is that they’re always getting typecast in the same kinds of roles — in science fiction and horror projects. Why? It’s because the three happen to also be monsters.

The brainchild of a collective effort by writer/comedian Ben Paddon (PortsCenter, Boomer’s Day Off), writer/actress Mac Beauvais (Hit Girl, The Gloaming), and featuring director Justin Zagri (Severus Snape and the Marauders), they have developed an initial season of eight 6-10-minute-long episodes. Now for the hard part: pulling together the funds to help make it a reality.

The team all speak with a fondness and a passion about their project that is entirely infectious. Think Silicon Valley, but set in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. With monsters.

We decided to take the struggling/disenfranchised actor trope and turn it on its head by imagining a world where all the creepy crawlies you’ve ever seen on the screen were played by actual monsters. If you need the elevator pitch (that’s Hollywood-speak for please compare your stuff to other people’s stuff), it’s a bit of Being Human meets Extras. And who wouldn’t enjoy a comedic story about monsters working in the industry but dreaming of something more?

Our leads consist of Tony, a bog monster, who dreams of playing the lead in a drama instead of generic beasts in lame sci-fi horror films; Abby, a werewolf, who wants to ditch her regular gig as a breakfast cereal mascot; and Leeroy, a zombie, who just wants people to take the living-impaired seriously, which would be easier if he didn’t have to keep gluing his ear back on. The series also features their savvy but ultimately unhelpful agent, Dennis, who wishes they would just stick to what they’re good at (and get him his percentage

The group has gone to Indiegogo to create a crowdfunding effort to raise the $50,000 they need for the full season (or a bit shy of $7,000 per episode). It’s a flexible goal project so it’ll fund regardless of whether they make their full goal, and they fully intend to make as many episodes as they can with however much they do raise.