Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
What better way to prepare for the fast-approaching weekend than by indulging in the some of the Internet’s most well-done web content? Take advantage of your lunch break and treat yourself to Afternoon Delight, Decider’s carefully curated picks of the best short-form content available on the world wide web. This week we’re spotlighting The Charlie Orange Show, a new woman-on-the-street web series from funny lady Charlie Gelbart.
The series follows Gelbart as three characters – Charlie Orange, Brenda the Bride, and Fat Barbie, and each episode features the misadventures of the characters as they spring into the lives of unknowing passerby in Los Angeles. Charlie Orange, a mute character who yearns for affection, accosts people at Venice Beach with free hugs, spooning, and the like. Brenda the Bride, fearing that she’s passing the age women should be married by, scours the streets in full wedding garb after reading “The Secret” in search of her one true love. Fat Barbie, a character for which Gelbart gained 30 pounds, dons a blonde wig, crop top, and tutu, and finds herself in a new world after being kicked out of Barbie’s Dream House for not conforming to the rest of its stick-thin inhabitants (unfortunately, she finds that the obsession with physical appearance is just as prevalent outside the Dream House).
“I had the idea for a really long time,” Gelbart told Decider. “I think I had a dream one night… I woke up at like four in the morning and I hopped up out of bed and I was like ‘Fat Barbie’! And I wrote that down, and it was kind of the catalyst that got me started working on the show.” The Charlie Orange Show, while thoroughly funny, also hits on some really interesting revelations about society, and Gelbart wasn’t necessarily surprised by this: she finds her comedy in the truth around her. “I feel like the darker the stuff I go through, the more comedy I want to bring to it… I’m just like this is so real, or this is so sad, or this is so true, that this is funny to me.”
Gelbart was also frank about the 30-pound weight gain she underwent to play Fat Barbie. “I get really bored with things, so I thought ‘how can I make this more fun’? Why do dramatic actors get to have all the fun with their appearance? I thought it added another kind of element to my work.” She also reflected on the reactions she received, specifically as Fat Barbie; most men would shy away from commenting on her body whatsoever and compliment her eyes or something else instead.
The comedienne also revealed she was surprised during the process by the inherent need for connection shown by the people she encountered, specifically during “Free Hugs” and “Free Spooning” (Gelbart toured with “Free Spooning” in California). “People’s reactions to that and seeing how we really want connection – I don’t know if it’s more than ever, or if it’s always like this, but one guy says it in the episode, and I got the sentiment a lot while touring – ‘you know, this is probably the most love I’ve ever had’… People would come up and act like it was a joke, and then once they were in the spooning, they were like… awww. Like they could release, and relax…. It’s just kind of poignant.”
Over the course of the series, the comedienne puts herself into some truly cringeworthy situations and does so without an ounce of shame or embarrassment. Whether she’s latching onto strangers for hugs, proposing to worthy bachelors at a farmer’s market, or being told she’s fat by 12-year-old girls, she conquers each sequence with a natural sense of comedy and character that makes her a total joy to behold – and sometimes, things get deeper than expected (check out that 28-minute hug!). There’s a lot of good stuff ahead to get excited for – Brenda the Bride goes to a matchmaker, talks to people who want to be single forever, and straight-up catfishes men from Match.com and shows up for dates in her gown. Whether you’re keen on Brenda, Fat Barbie, or the eponymous, endearing Charlie Orange, this web series will have you hooked from the get-go.
Uproarious, affecting, and intelligent, The Charlie Orange Show is a showcase for Gelbart’s top-notch talents and has us excited for what she’s got in store for us. New episodes debut every Tuesday and Wednesday through July. Be sure to subscribe to The Charlie Orange Show on YouTube, like it on Facebook, and follow on Instagram!
