This week’s featured webseries is Super Knocked Up, the hilarious show about supervillain Darkstar who finds herself inconveniently knocked up by her arch nemesis, Captain Amazing.
We love web series here on Hypable, and we want to prove to you why! Each Wednesday, we spotlight a different webseries which has caught our eye, and this week it’s Super Knocked Up!
With its impressive visual effects and talented, hilarious cast, Super Knocked Up puts a fresh a spin on the familiar superhero genre – not least because the show’s protagonist is actually the villain.
Season 1 opens with Jessica, aka Darkstar (who has quite happily been living a life of evil), waking up in bed with her arch-nemesis Captain Amazing (aka Michael).
But hey, that happens, right? And surely nothing could ever come of it, seeing as they are on opposite sides of the fight of Good vs Evil… except a few weeks later – you guessed it – Jessica discovers that she’s pregnant with Captain Amazing’s baby.
Now Jessica is conflicted about where her loyalties lie, and season 2 sees the unlikely pair come to terms with the fact that, despite their differences, they’re going to have to raise this child together.
First launched in 2012, Super Knocked Up was conceptualised and realised by Jeff Burns, and stars Jourdan Gibson and Mark Pezzula as Jessica and Michael.
In its second season, Super Knocked Up has launched a spinoff series, a talk show and a comic book, and there’s a lot more to come!
Jeff, Jourdan and Mark have graciously taken the time to sit down with Hypable and discuss their thoughts on the show, its spinoff ventures, and the world of web series in general.
HYPABLE: What came first: the general idea for ‘Super Knocked Up’, or the idea to do a web series?
JEFF: Actually Mark and Jourdan are enemies in real life and got pregnant, and I based it on that… okay, not really. The story totally came first. I was itching to make something of my own as it had been a few years since I made a film and I saw everything migrating to the web and really believed that was the place to be. And I believe it even more now.
As a web series enthusiast myself, I’m very curious to hear why you believe so strongly in the web series format?
JEFF: I really think it’s the future of entertainment. I think more and more people are going to be watching everything online – you’re already seeing it happen. I watch all my TV shows on Hulu, for example, and have been doing that for a couple of years. In terms of the web series format, yeah I really love it. I love the freedom it gives me and other creators. We’re not confined to a set time length for an episode like TV series are. I can make each episode however long I think is best to tell that particular part of the story – that’s so freeing as a creator.
MARK: I really didn’t know much about web series before I started working on Super Knocked Up. But I think, really, the format is the next evolution in the way stories are delivered to an audience. They’re usually short, so people can watch them at their leisure, they can be watched at any time, and they’re usually produced independently. So all of that combined makes them a worthwhile draw to audiences and filmmakers.
JOURDAN: One of the great things about web entertainment is that there’s little barrier to entry. If you’re passionate about a project, you can film it, and post it online almost immediately for the world to see. And, fortunately, the past few years, filmmakers in the web series world have really raised the bar for quality. So, with web, we get easy access to viewers, fans, AND high quality entertainment.
One of the first things I noted about the series is how great it looks, it’s very professionally done. Jeff, do you have a background in filmmaking?
JEFF: Oh why thank you! That’s really, really cool to hear. I did not study film at all. My degrees are in History and Ancient History. But I’ve always loved telling stories and after grad school had this desire to try filmmaking.
So having no idea what I was doing, I threw myself into it and made my first short film. I was totally hooked after that. I knew that was what I wanted to do, it’s my absolute passion! I learned by doing it basically. I get better with every project I do.
Jourdan and Mark, how did you find your way to ‘Super Knocked Up’?
MARK: I got involved with Super Knocked Up after Jeff asked me if I wanted to play a superhero in a webseries he wrote. And who doesn’t want to play a superhero?! So I said yes.
JOURDAN: I saw a posting saying that Super Knocked Up was re-casting their lead actress, and I was SUPER excited, because I knew of the show, and already had a lot of respect for it. I didn’t dream I’d get cast as Darkstar though, because she was brunette. Fortunately, Jeff is very creative and can think outside the box! I sent in an audition video, and it went from there.
(Note: In Super Knocked Up‘s first season, Jessica/Darkstar was played by actress Natalie Bain.)
What made you cast a new Darkstar? And how did your audience react to such a drastic change?
JEFF: Mark said he would only continue if I cast a super-hot new girl every season…
MARK: Yeah, I need a new girl every season. Like there’s a new Bond girl every movie.
JOURDAN: There’s actually a new hot girl coming in for season 3. KIDDING!
JEFF: Natalie Bain played Darkstar in season 1 and she was great. It really just came down to money. She wanted to be paid for season 2 but we weren’t in a position that we could do that. Everyone is still on an all volunteer basis, which I’m super grateful for. But I know we were going to continue and was thrilled when we found Jourdan, who totally rocks it in season 2.
MARK: And people accepted it almost right away, because we introduced Jourdan to them from the start. So people got to know Jourdan, and by the time season 2 aired it was like she had been Darkstar all along.
JEFF: We did a lot of things to introduce Jourdan to the fans. I had her do Super-Jourdy vlogs, and we’ve been doing our live Super Geeked Up shows via Google Hangout for months now. And that was really important I think. Fans got to be introduced to Jourdan as a person and interact with her and dig her. So they were already invested in her as a person before they saw her as an actress, which meant they wanted to see her in the role even more. If we didn’t do any of that and just said, “Hi, here’s season 2 and there’s a new girl,” I don’t think it would have worked as well.
JOURDAN: I am so thankful for how Jeff went about introducing me as the new Darkstar for season 2. He was very thoughtful about what the fans might feel and think, and he was really thoughtful about how I might feel coming into a role that’s already been portrayed by someone else. He eased the fans into knowing me, and it’s been a really great transition and experience.
Go to page 2 to read Jeff, Jourdan and Mark’s thoughts on the characters, and what they can tease about season 2 and future projects.
I’m really interested in the Darkstar character. She’s the lead, she’s a villain (but she’s not really evil), and then suddenly she has to deal with, essentially, being a working mother…
JEFF: Yes, I loved coming up with Darkstar and writing her. I love writing kick-ass female characters. But what I really love about Darkstar is that while she’s tough and independent on the outside, there’s also a vulnerable side to her that she tries not to let anyone see. A side that actually needs a family in her life. It’s that multi-layered stuff I love writing and seeing Jourdan bring out in her performance.
JOURDAN: Darkstar is an incredible character to play. She has so many different layers and emotions, especially in this season. She had a hard childhood, where she had to grow up too fast. And, she made choices, many for self preservation and survival purposes. At this point in the story, and in her life, she’s dealing with people and situations that are FAR out of her comfort zone. New emotions and feelings that she’s never felt are coming up, and all of her discomfort and frustration with it plays out on screen. She’s learning a lot about herself, and it is so much fun to portray.
Is it hard to find the balance between making Darkstar a believable villain, but still making her likeable and relatable for the audience?
JEFF: That’s one thing I felt was very important from the very beginning. I wanted her to be a super-villain, but I also knew as the protagonist I needed the audience to empathize with her and root for her. It’s been fun finding that balance actually. And I think the key is making Darkstar real. People relating to why she does what she does and seeing the inner conflict within her. Yeah she’s a villain and she steals stuff and kicks ass. But she also has a softer side you’ll see on the few occasions she lets her guard down for a moment.
JOURDAN: It’s a VERY cool and exciting challenge for me as an actor to play a lovable villain. I think her inner good is what makes her bitchy, irritable personality easier to swallow. So far, from the audience feedback, it seems that they can tell Darkstar is struggling with her evil affiliations, and this struggle makes her relatable. Everybody struggles with their inner demons, and everybody has people in their lives that frustrate the hell out of them! What makes it even better is the fact that Captain Amazing’s care-free, happy personality is so polar opposite of Darkstar, and together they balance out the tone of each scene.
Let’s talk about Captain Amazing. Was he inspired by Captain Hammer from ‘Dr. Horrible’?
In the series, Captain Amazing is the perfect foil for Jessica. He’s kind of everything she’s not and he drives her crazy with his flirting and how he’s always joking around and is kinda full of himself. But there’s a lot of honesty and heart within him too. And she sees that, even though she won’t admit it.
What will his role in the show be going forwards?
MARK: We will get to see more aspects of Captain Amazing during this season. There is much we don’t know about him yet, and we’ll get to know him more as the season progresses.
JEFF: When the baby arrives, a big thing is going to be the two of them trying to take care of the baby together. Or more likely Captain Amazing going off to save the world all the time and leaving Jessica stuck with the kid. Which makes her very difficult for her to plan all her villainous crimes when she’s trying to take care of the baby!
What else can you tease about season 2? Will we learn more about Darkstar’s mysterious parentage?
JEFF: You won’t find out about Darkstar’s parents in season 2, but that is a very important part of the storyline in future seasons.
I also want to know more about the graphic novel! How do you even go about making one of those?
JEFF: I had a blast doing it. I’ve loved reading comics since I was a kid, so to actually get to make one myself was like the coolest thing ever. It was a totally new experience for me but an awesome one.
I had to find a penciler/inker, colorist, and letterer. I learned about this site called DigitalWebbing where writers can post that they’re looking for artists, etc. So I found my artist, colorist, and letterer through there. My artist Donny Gandakusuma is from Indonesia, as is my colorist Kefas Armando. My letterer MaGnUs is from Uruguay. So it was interesting to send the script to them, get pages back, send notes back and forth, until each page was what I was envisioning. It also let me tell more of the Super Knocked Up story.
The comic book has a bunch of stuff in it that happens before the events of season 1 of the web series.
What do you think the web series format allows storytellers to do that the network formula doesn’t?
MARK: I think it allows independent filmmakers to release their work on their own schedule. I think that’s important. It also allows for filmmakers to retain total control of their creations. For now, at least, until Hollywood invades the webseries world.
JOURDAN: There’s so many benefits to using the web as medium for displaying your writing/work, as opposed to a network or television. It takes years, and often times, really good contacts, to get work in front of a network for consideration. So, having the ability to post your work when you want is priceless. The most obvious downside to web, in comparison to TV, is it’s harder to get the eyeballs on your show! But, the way online entertainment is skyrocketing… more and more people will be looking for quality online, original content. Hopefully our show, and others like it will stand out.
JEFF: The web series format lets creators tell their story the way they feel is the best. They’re not confined by time or commercial breaks or having to do a set number of episodes. I can make every season however many episodes I feel is best to tell the story and each episode however long I need to. And that’s something you really only get with the web series format right now.
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
JEFF: We have two spinoff projects from Super Knocked Up. One is Super Mashed Up, a series of crossover episodes with other web series, where Darkstar and other characters from our show meet up with characters from other web series in comedic ways. They’re a ton of fun to do and great cross-promotional tools.
The other is Super Geeked Up, a live Google Hangout show Jourdan, Mark, and I do every Wednesday night at 11 p.m. EST. We talk about geeky stuff, answer fan questions, and have a web series guest on every week. It’s an amazing way for us to connect and inteact with the fans and again cross-promote with other web series. I’m all about coming up with fun and cool ways to cross-promote with other series.
The web series community is the most amazing and supportive community I’ve ever been a part of and we all need to help each other.
Thanks to Jeff Burns, Jourdan Gibson and Mark Pezzula for talking to Hypable about Super Knocked Up! Check out the most recent episode of season 2 below:
Make sure you follow the @SuperKnockedUp Twitter for all the latest updates about the series, and subscribe to their YouTube Channel.