There are some pleasant surprises coming this year — and yes, some disasters. Here are the fall 2014 shows of distinction, good and bad, in handy chronological order!
Anna Martemucci
Starz
Shane Dawson
Starz
Starz, In Progress, Saturdays at 11 p.m.
This 10-part documentary series is not for everybody; it definitely tilts toward film nerds. Its conceit is that two first-time directors, Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci, each get the opportunity to direct a feature from the same script (that they can change) on a $600,000 budget. In Pittsburgh, in the middle of winter. The competition aspect is hazy to me — somehow, one of them will "win" based on audience feedback and will get $250,000. But that is irrelevant. Having watched the first half of the season (Starz has made five episodes available On Demand), I'm obsessed with this show! The two directors' sensibilities are opposite: Martemucci has a traditional indie background, and went to NYU for screenwriting; Dawson is a self-made YouTube star, with an early John Waters grossout sensibility. Seeing their different artistic choices is fascinating, of course. But there's so much more to love here, like watching the crazy gender dynamics at play in Martemucci's deferential, consensus-building approach (especially when her filmmaker husband is around), and wondering whether Dawson is so reliant on the fans he already has that he'll never get out of the YouTube bubble. The Chair also breaks the fourth wall often, with both directors talking about how the show's cameras make their jobs more difficult. And if you have seen the show's creator, Chris Moore, on the similar Project Greenlight, you know that every time he talks, it's fun to listen. If I have one complaint about The Chair, it's that, because the city of Pittsburgh and some of the city's businesses are funding both the show and Martemucci and Dawson's films, it sometimes comes off as … well, a weird ad for Pittsburgh. (Even though everyone is clearly so freezing all the time that they wear coats and scarves indoors.) But that complaint is strange and unique, and I've never had that thought before while watching a TV show, so it's almost a compliment. Love you, The Chair!
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