Young aspiring artists and the growing pains of youth are hardly fresh territory for filmmakers. But Oh, You Pretty Things, the first dramatic scripted series from multi-channel YouTube network Maker Studios, in partnership with fashion/lifestyle brand Nylon, is worth a binge-watch marathon.

Director Rico Martinez’s voyeuristic cinematography beautifully captures the L.A. indie art and music scene through the lives of lifestyle blogger Olivia Jones (Francesca Eastwood) and a group of 20-something creatives stumbling their way to success via downtown loft parties, practice sessions and the Echo.

]

The show’s script, from Brian Canning and Christian Casucci, is authentic, messy and smart. It was originally an hourlong TV script based on Canning and exec producer Jessica Gelt’s experiences in various Silver Lake and Echo Park creative communities.

“There’s a whole youth culture scene that we were extremely intimate with that just wasn't getting represented on TV,” Gelt says.
The music played by the show’s fictional band, We Are the Royals, is a combination of songs from Canning and Gelt’s former L.A. bands, Irving and The Movies, respectively, as well as original music and additional songs harvested from the actual L.A. indie music scene.

The series itself could end up being part of the involved artists’ L.A. success stories. During production, the fictional band mates got together at Canning’s practice space to work on the music but ended up writing their own songs, too.

“They even played a show as The Royals at the Silverlake Lounge, opening up for Brian’s current band, The Afternoons,” Gelt enthuses. “You really can’t make that sort of thing happen.”


The Tangled Web We Watch is our column on what’s worth watching online. You can watch Oh, You Pretty Things on Maker’s Life and Style YouTube channel, YouTube.com/ThePlatform. Read Stephanie Carrie’s full interview with executive producer Jessica Gelt and Maker’s Sarah Malkin on her blog, tangledwebwewatch.com.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.