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 Mondays, a hilariously cringeworthy web series that perfectly captures the all-too-common plights of the 20-something woman.
Created by Kelsey Bascom and Arnon Manor and written by and starring Bascom, Mondays follows Kelly, a 20-something woman navigating Los Angeles and all its quirks, obstacles, and everyday occurrences. Mondays can be a total slog, and for Kelly, every day has the potential to venture into Monday territory.
“I worked really hard in high school to get into a good college, and I worked even harder in college to get good job,” Bascom tells Decider. “Then, when I got that job, I actually got demoted on my first day, which was really kind of the start of the Mondays idea. That was just the beginning of many weird and awkward things that happened to me that year, and I started writing them down.”
Our leading lady is just like the rest of us; she’s got an embarrassing mom who calls at inopportune moments, a job she never applied for, and ongoing internal monologues that capture the kinds of thoughts that might fly through your head when encountering an old, over-sharing acquaintance or ample-chested coworker. She’s also got a doting boyfriend named Jordan played by none other than Clayton Snyder, perhaps best known as Lizzie McGuire’s dreamy, ditzy crush Ethan Craft. “It’s funny, because when I was younger, I was such a huge Lizzie McGuire fan, so it was very fun for me when Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder) played my boyfriend. I found Clayton through one of our mutual friends on Facebook,” Bascom recalls.
“I wanted to show what women really think and go through in a fun, quirky way. There’s a lot of vagina talk on our show,” Bascom says. She names Girls and Chelsea Handler as influences, but Bascom’s own voice undoubtedly shines through on Mondays. Her favorite episode is “That Time When I Leaned In”, in which we become privy to Kelly’s thoughts as she sits through a meeting. “Kelly’s character is based on a part of me, and I’m aware that sometimes on the outside I come across as shy or quiet, but I do have a strong voice in my head, and that’s what I wanted to play with. I think it’s something that a lot of young women can relate to.”
Kelly acts as the everywoman that’s generally pretty hard to come by these days; she’s charming without being twee, authentically observant in a way most of us would never fess up to, and subtly, off-the-cuff funny in her responses to situations we’ve all been in. Mondays manages to seamlessly integrate situational comedy with Kelly’s witty, relatable voiceover without venturing into over-indulgent territory. Bascom’s understated performance combined with a stellar group of starry ensemble players (that you’ve likely seen before!) ensures that every awkward scenario hits all the comedic beats necessary. Believe it or not, Bascom had never acted before Mondays – she didn’t even consider the idea until director Arnon Manor suggested it (and we’re glad she did).
Each witty episode of Mondays tends to clock in at a succinct 3 minutes or less, making them totally binge-able no matter how little time you have on your hands. Mondays has 21 episodes so far and more in the pipeline, so your binge-watching needs are sure to be satisfied by this smartly short & sweet series.
Be sure to subscribe to Mondays‘ YouTube channel for future installments, and follow Mondays and Bascom on Twitter!
