After Three Year Absence, GLAAD Award Winning Gay TV Series, The DL Chronicles Prepares for Independent Return to Viewers After Former Cable Network Loses Series Rights
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — In 2008, The DL Chronicles, a narrative anthology series which explored the double sexual lives of men of color, was positioned for great success.
During its first season, The DL Chronicles was awarded the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Anthology, winning against BBC America’s mini-series, The State Within and MTV/LOGO’s TV Movie, Daphne. The DL Chronicles claimed the honor of being the first Gay TV series of color to win the coveted award and the first TV series win for an LGBT Television network (here! TV). It went on to reach critical acclaim internationally and was green-lit for a second season.
After much press and fanfare, the second season was never produced, leaving thousands of wanting fans wondering why. Creators, Deondray Gossett and Quincy LeNear were left in the dark as well.
“Press releases announcing the new season went out to the press, published in Variety and elsewhere. We were given an official greenlight and a production date; however, that date was pushed indefinitely for two years until all communication with our network stopped,” says LeNear.
“At that point we felt our show would lose its fan base and fall dead in its tracks and we had no answers as to why.”
Surprisingly, for Gossett and LeNear, the series continued to build a fan base through DVD and online through streaming video, pirated copies on Youtube, and other video sharing websites. The DL Chronicles took on new importance and continued to reach a growing audience.
“There was a whole new fan base growing right under our noses, but our hands were completely tied for three years,” says Gossett.
This past October the series rights reverted back to Gossett and LeNear and they intend to return the series independently in 2012.
“We are excited to witness other independent projects that have found success through the internet such as the iTunes hit For Lovers Only by the Polish brothers. We realized that the majority of our fans have been accessing our content online with over 10 million views across the web. With the ability to reach our audience directly we have decided to independently produce and distribute online through VOD and Direct to DVD. With web enabled televisions, cellular phones, game consoles and mobile devices, we have distribution options outside of the traditional avenues that didn’t exist before.”
The team has launched a funding campaign through Kickstarter.com, a crowd-source funding website owned by Amazon, to raise the needed additional funds directly through their fans and supporters. They now face the challenge of mobilizing their online fan base to contribute before December 30th.
“We are facing a few challenges. Gaining active financial support from the African American LGBT community, especially the fans gained through pirated access. Meanwhile, competing with the Holidays for funding to push for a production start date at the top of 2012 is no easy task,” says LeNear.
“We only have two weeks left and part of that falls during the Christmas Holidays; however, we are remaining hopeful that the community and supporters will help make this happen. It’s Christmas and hopefully Santa knows we’ve been good.”
Since The DL Chronicles and TV series Noah’s Arc, there has been no other network TV shows that specifically portray the lives of Same Gender Loving African American men. The DL Chronicles wants to make history again by being the first TV series of color to harness the power of the internet.
To support their efforts visit Kickstarter.com and search for The DL Chronicles RETURNS or visit their official website at http://www.theofficialdlchronicles.com
Media Contact: Earl Gossfield, 2 Cents Productions, 8186606540, 2centsfilms@gmail.com
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