Tony nominees Tom Wopat and Pascale Armand star in HEIRLOOM, an aspirational romantic comedy series, which debuts on Vimeo today, September 9. Series star and co-creator Paten Hughes (one of the original members of Kevin Spacey's Old Vic New Voices Network) and writer Bekah Brunstetter (The Cake, Oorah) join the cast in a heart-warming journey back to small town life and simple pleasure. Michael Melamedoff was responsible for bringing the theatrically-flared cast to the project.
Rare for a digital series, Heirloom brings together a cast with serious theatre credits. Although best known for Dukes of Hazard, Wopat was nominated for two Tony Awards, the first for "Frank Butler" in the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun and the second in 2008 for A Catered Affair. He plays famed farmer Lynn Brown in Heirloom. The much honored Armand was nominated for a 2016 Tony for her role in Eclipsed. Not surprising, Hughes, who has appeared on stage in New York and London, was responsible for bringing the cast and her co-creator and series writer Brunstetter to the project.
View the trailer below:
Heirloom was inspired by the experience of Hughes who actually started an organic heirloom tomato farm. The series follows down-on-her-luck actress Emily (Hughes), through a series of horrific auditions until her mom (Gossip Girl's Margaret Colin) calls with the news that her Uncle Bob has left her his farm in Sonoma. Emily leaves her depressed writer-boyfriend in New York (played by the ingeniously sarcastic John Lavelle) to head west with her dog Spencer as she re-invents herself as a tomato farmer. Her new tomato farm soon yields new friends, new business, and a new shot at love. Heirloom also stars Ryan Cooper (upcoming Rock That Body) and Luis Vega.
"I am so fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing cast and creative team for Heirloom and we were all inspired by the wonderful people of Healdsburg, CA where the entire story takes place," said Hughes. "These people and this attitude are why I became an actor in the first place: passionate people living interesting and enthusiastic lives that are open and supportive and engaged. The town's beauty is so breathtaking that your entire body is hypnotized by it."
"At the heart of Heirloom is the spirit that Paten carries with her daily as a maker: the desire of someone who sees the world not as it is but as it could be. It is easy to look at Heirloom's protagonist, Emily, and see only an extension of Paten. In doing so one would make many connections that are true between the character and its inspiration -- Emily and Paten are both gracious, ambitious, and innocent without ever being naive.
But in bringing to life the character of Emily, Paten and her co-creator Bekah Brunstetter have landed on something greater than a stand-in for the show's star. They've tapped into the restless, empowering and endearing energy of the millennial generation: a group of young women and men who see a world without fixed boundaries, and who have alchemized this fluidity to create enthusiastic new opportunities," said Michael Melamedoff. He led an all-female camera crew in the Sonoma unit, cinematography by Kat Westergaard (Lovesong, Sundance 2016), production design by Angel Herrera, and featuring original music by Laura Brenneman.
The launch is sponsored by Avalon Ventures, Emerald Textiles, and RHH Consulting.
Paten Hughes, James Richard, Julie Crosby, Kevin Kinsella and Brooke Stevens are producers.
All nine episodes of Heirloom will be available for binge viewing on Vimeo, September 9
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