Squaresville is our webseries of the week, and we delve into this show about friendship and belonging with an in-depth interview with showrunner Matt Enlow.

Showrunner Matt Enlow describes the show as “the story of two best friends growing up and dreaming big.” So what is it about this quirky exploration of friendship that has gained it such a cult following?

At the essense of the show, Squaresville is still about those two best friends – Zelda (Mary Kate Wiles) and Esther (Kylie Sparks) – who are attempting to navigate high school realities without compromising their big picture fantasies. Together with best friend Percy (Austin Rogers), they think and dream big.

Squaresville is shot in episodic fashion, with each episode showing a fragment of the characters’ lives. At times, an overarching narrative can be difficult to glimpse, but the first few episodes of season 2 proved that it had always been there. The episodes are quirky, filmed in a variety of different styles, and utilising a huge range of storytelling techniques.

Squaresville features a talented supporting cast, but it is actresses Mary Kate Wiles and Kylie Sparks who really hold the show together. Every episode might be distinct, and the reason we still care is because of these characters, these actresses, and this writing.

The second season has experimented in the absurd, but never at the expense of the emotional depth of the characters. Squaresville is equally irreverent and grounded, capturing the emotional reality that accompanies being a teenager, and often breaking our hearts along the way.

Interview: ‘Squaresville’ showrunner Matt Enlow

What was your inspiration in creating ‘Squaresville’?

I wanted to make a show that I would’ve loved when I was younger, and speaks to the type of people I would’ve been hanging out with. My friends and I never really related to the characters on TV, and I wanted a show with different values out there. I want young people to know that it’s OK to feel different, it’s OK to have big aspirations, and it’s OK to acknowledge your own intelligence and abilities. Pretty lofty for a 5 minute indie show about teenagers making jokes in a bedroom.

Why do you think ‘Squaresville’ lends itself to the web medium?

Well, we made it for the web first, and every other screen second. If you’re going to make a show for the web, it has to be in it’s DNA there from the start. We’re still trying to figure out how narratives work online, so you’ve really got to put your back into it. I think telling lifestyle stories – vignettes in these character’s lives – is both our best choice, and also the hardest hurtle.

It’s been so exciting to learn how quickly an audience will devour plot and story. In general, audiences are becoming accustomed to larger narrative arcs, and striking the balance between small character moments and big, plotty episodes is our real challenge.

Tell us about your process when working on ‘Squaresville’

The wonderful thing about Squaresville is that at this point, we’ve all known each other for at least two years. Most of the principle crew are old friends from college. It’s a very tight shooting schedule, so we spend a lot of time casting, rewriting, and planning for what typically amounts to three three-day weekends in a row. We’re very conscious of the fact that we’re a small shoot working long hours, so we make sure to make the set as fun as possible.

As for writing, I just have Christine drop me off at a coffee shop without wifi for afternoons at a time. I have no choice but to write, and I just start typing till something decent comes out.

What has been your favourite themed episode, and why did you choose to make episodes in these styles?

I swore that “I Know, Right?” would be the most complicated episode to make, and in season 2 we blew anything we did in season 1 out of the water. Those fantasy episodes involve costumes, green screen, tons of locations – stuff that our show doesn’t typically call for. So it’s a blast and a big shift for everyone. It’s one thing to spend a day at a high school, and another to be in the desert with a monster costume.

That being said, “Cosplay for Dummies” is both my favorite, and also the hardest. The fun of the fantasy episodes is that I’m trying to contrast the dreams and ambitions of these characters with their mundane lives. Rather than have them take a trip to Tokyo or go back stage at a concert, the fantasy elements are, I think, a little more relatable and realistic, you know? Not every kid gets to go on a wild adventure, but everyone dreams of one.

Tell us about your decision to include interactive elements, like the Q&Hey videos and the questions at the end of each episode.

The interactive elements are super important to us. If you’re going to be on the internet, you better be interacting. Because we shoot our episodes all in a row, and roll them out over months and months, I knew that we needed a way to keep shooting content that would be a part of the conversation.

Before I cast MK and Kylie, I sat them down to talk about social media, and how I thought it best for them to use it. I had no idea that they’d become so obsessed with it. It’s really been a blast, and I never expected interacting with the community to be so fulfilling.

Why do you love ‘Squaresville’?

Images courtesy of Squaresville