Leap Year (TV series)

Leap Year
Poster image
Genre Comedy-drama
Created by Wilson Cleveland
Yuri Baranovsky
Vlad Baranovsky
Directed by Yuri Baranovsky
Starring Wilson Cleveland
Alexis Boozer Sterling
Yuri Baranovsky
Daniela DiIorio
Drew Lanning
Rachel Risen
Craig Bierko
Emma Caulfield
Eliza Dushku
Mark Gantt
Joshua Malina
Dustin Toshiyuki
Julie Warner
Steven Weber
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 20 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Wilson Cleveland
Yuri Baranovsky
Vlad Baranovsky
Justin Morrison
Dashiell Reinhardt
Garrett Law
Eliza Dushku (season 2)
Production location(s) San Francisco
Cinematography Justin Morrison
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 15–25 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor Unboxd Media
Attention Span Media
Release
Original network Hulu
YouTube
USA Network[2]
Picture format 1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release June 6, 2011 – August 20, 2012
External links
Website

Leap Year is an American comedy-drama web television series created and executive produced by Wilson Cleveland[3] and Yuri Baranovsky, who also star as brothers Derek and Aaron Morrison. The series, sponsored by Hiscox, about five former co-workers starting a tech company, debuted June 6, 2011 on Hulu and YouTube. The first season had received 3.7 million streams as of February 29, 2012[4] when it was announced the series had been renewed for a second season,[5] which premiered on June 18, 2012.[6]

Reception


Leap Year cast at the 2013 IAWTV Awards

The series received generally favorable reviews from critics. TheWrap's John Sellers called Leap Year "a well-wrought online comedy," adding that while the series was sponsored by a brand, "even those who are cynical about such matters should laugh at the show."[7] Forbes contributor Jesse Thomas titled his August 9, 2011 review "Leap Year: The Web Series Every Entrepreneur Should Watch"[8] and New York Observer tech writer Jessica Roy noted, "The show follows the ups (but mostly downs) of building a startup, with a wry comedic voice and plenty of inside jokes for the tech set."[9] In his August 1, 2012 review, television critic Keith McDuffee wrote, "I’m not sure I care about any of these characters enough. I struggle to see what anyone sees in Aaron besides that he's apparently good in business. Aaron's brother, Derek (Wilson Cleveland) doesn't yet have a meaty enough role to latch onto, and Olivia (Daniela DiIorio) is almost right up there with how I feel about Aaron: lots of negative vibes." [10]

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences honored Leap Year with the 2012 Webby Award for Best Online Series. The series also received Streamy and Banff World Media Festival Awards for Best Branded Entertainment Series and the IAWTV Award for Best Dramatic Series at CES in 2013.[11][12]

Plot

Season 1 (2011)

After being laid-off from their corporate day jobs, Aaron, Bryn, Derek, Olivia and Jack compete to get their businesses off the ground when a mystery benefactor promises to invest $500,000 in one of their startups.

Season 2 (2012)

Six months have passed since Aaron, Bryn, Derek, Olivia and Jack won half a million dollars by banding together to create a holographic video conferencing platform called C3D. Now living in Silicon Valley with launch day approaching, the founders of C3D are beset by a mysterious series of setbacks.

Cast and characters

Main Cast

  • Wilson Cleveland as Derek Morrison, Aaron's older half brother and one of C3D's original founders. A series of events involving a lawsuit sees Derek betray his friends in return for the lawsuit being dismissed.
  • Alexis Boozer Sterling as Bryn Arbor, a brilliant coder and C3D's sardonic Chief Technology Officer. Bryn developed C3D's holographic video technology and built the prototype from scratch. Bryn shuns the spotlight but as a virtue of her talents cannot fully escape it. She would rather spend hours tinkering away with headphones on, not talking to anybody. She is the type of person who wears a spiked collar so she can stab people in the face when they hug her.
  • Yuri Baranovsky as Aaron Morrison, CFO at C3D, Aaron is married to Lisa and struggles with the demanding schedule of starting a company. Aaron is the voice of reason behind Jack's insanity.
  • Daniela DiIorio as Olivia Reddox, C3D's acerbic chief marketing officer, whose short temper leads her to quit C3D until she meets Sam Berry, an enigmatic stranger who motivates her to reconsider her resignation and rejoin the team.
  • Drew Lanning as Jack Sather, C3D's CEO who is obsessed with the idea of becoming an iconic, Steve Jobsian leader, but cannot get out of his own way.
  • Rachel Risen as Lisa Morrison, Aaron's long-suffering wife.

Recurring

  • Craig Bierko as Andy Corvell, CEO of Corvell Corporation and C3D's angel investor. He fires Aaron, Bryn, Derek, Jack and Olivia then challenges them to a business contest worth half a million dollars for one winner.
  • Julie Warner as Josie Lanning, an attorney who advises C3D. She helps Derek settle the harassment lawsuit brought against him when he jokingly threatens to fire his Mormon assistant for not letting him buy her a drink.
  • Dustin Toshiyuki as Glenn Cheeky, C3D's 20-year-old genius lead investor and former protege of Andy Corvell.
  • Eliza Dushku as June Pepper (season 2), MIT graduate and expert hacker. She is recruited by Andy Corvell to sabotage C3D's launch announcement, empty the company bank account and blackmail Derek into sharing C3D information with Livefye.
  • Joshua Malina as Sam Berry (season 2), a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur who's dating Olivia and ultimately helps her defeat Andy Corvell.
  • Steven Weber as Detective Remy Doyle (season 2), an SJPD detective. He arrests and interrogates Bryn after she handcuffs June Pepper in a coat closet and makes a video death threat against Andy Corvell.
  • Emma Caulfield as Smiley (season 2), an over-zealous private investigator. She is hired by Aaron and Derek to find intel on those responsible for breaking into the C3D office and stealing the prototypes.
  • Shira Lazar as herself (season 2), host of What's Trending who conducts Jack's disastrous live interview about C3D's launch date.
  • Mark Gantt as Sergei Lenov (season 1), a reclusive Russian programmer who lives in a remote cabin. He helps Bryn finish the C3D prototype.
  • Kim Fitzgerald as Scarlett Lane (season 1), an author who becomes Jack's first client and then his girlfriend. She breaks up with him after he steals Adam Ostrow's contact info and drops her name to get Olivia's post on Mashable.
  • Lillie Morrisson as Matilda (season 2), Jack and Aaron's college friend seen in flashback. She tries to break up Aaron and Lisa at a campus Valentine's Day party.
  • Alexis Ohanian as himself (season 2), Reddit co-founder who gives Jack, Aaron and Bryn advice on how to win the Techstars contest.
  • Guy Kawasaki as himself (season 1), Scarlett's friend
  • Rachel Sklar as herself (season 2), Techstars contest advisor and Bryn's girl crush.
  • Gary Vaynerchuk as himself (season 1), New Yorker who tells Olivia on "nobody says thank you in business."
  • Dave Tisch as himself (season 2), Head of Techstars NY who hears C3D pitch from Jack, Aaron and Bryn.
  • Adam Ostrow as himself (season 1), Mashable Editor-in-Chief who accepts Olivia's guest post about Aaron.
  • Ryan Lawler as himself (season 2), TechCrunch reporter who covers the C3D launch event.
  • Douglas McMillan as himself (season 2), Businessweek tech reporter who covers the C3D launch event.
  • Drew Baldwin as Chuck (season 2), Derek's boyfriend.

References

  1. ↑ Sellers, John (August 8, 2011). "Leap Year Branded Sitcom From Break a Leg Creators Is Worth a Look". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  2. ↑ Nededog, Jethro (February 29, 2012). "Leap Year Web Series Renewed for Season 2, Sets Summer Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ Edelsburg, Natan (July 18, 2012). "How Leap Year built a web show for social savvy TV actors". Adweek. Retrieved April 24, 2018 – via Eldridge Industries, LLC.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Joshua (February 29, 2012). "Web Series Leaps into Second Season". Tubefilter. Tubefilter, Inc. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  5. ↑ Nededog, Jethro (February 29, 2012). "Leap Year Web Series Renewed for Season 2, Sets Summer Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  6. ↑ Shields, Mike (June 18, 2012). "Web Series Leaps into Second Season". Adweek. Beringer Capital. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  7. ↑ Sellers, John (August 8, 2011). "Leap Year Branded Sitcom From Break a Leg Creators Is Worth a Look". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Jesse (August 9, 2011). "Leap Year the Web Series Every Entrepreneur Should Watch". Forbes. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ Roy, Jessica (July 16, 2012). "Dave Tisch, Alexis Ohanian and Other NYC Tech Favs Cameo in Hulu Dramedy Leap Year". The New York Observer. Retrieved April 24, 2018 – via Observer Media.
  10. ↑ McDuffee, Keith (August 1, 2012). "Leap Year – A startup story web series with an impressive array of guests". CliqueClack. Retrieved April 24, 2018 – via CliqueClack.
  11. ↑ Hill, Naja (February 17, 2013). "Streamy Awards 2013: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2018 – via Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group.
  12. ↑ Staff, Variety (January 8, 2013). "CES: 'Squaresville' tops Web TV Awards". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2018 – via Variety Media, LLC.
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