Throughout the summer of 2019, Wild Honey Pictures released the first eight episode season of its original web series Hot Summer Daze, presented by Erika Lust. The series is executive produced by Tony Clavio and produced in association with Vendetta Entertainment. The sex-positive dramedy series follows Alex, Paige and Riley, three seniors graduating from a private high school in the suburbs of Chicago. After forming an unlikely bond during their freshman year and becoming inseparable, they now face their greatest challenges yet - a leaked video scandal, identity crisis, sexual exploration, and the complex bond of female friendship - all while their impending separation looms.
Diversity and representation in front of and behind the camera are at the core of creators Jenna Larson and Michelle C. McGhan’s mission, 86% of the speaking characters on the show are ethnically diverse or queer, and Hot Summer Daze utilized a 90% female crew bring the show’s LGBTQ+ themes and multi-ethnic storylines to life.
The series was released on writer/director Jenna Larson’s YouTube channel to over 345,000 subscribers and has accrued over 2.3 million views since the first episode premiered on June 21st, 2019. Hot Summer Daze is presented by Erika Lust, an indie adult filmmaker who has become world-renowned for helping re-invent adult cinema with her project XConfessions and her focus on female pleasure, cinematic values, diversity, and ethics. She was attracted to the project based on its ability to resonate with the current generation of teens facing similar universal struggles. “I wanted to produce a non-adult web series, because I believe that the sexuality of teenagers is under- and misrepresented in media on a regular basis. As a mother of two daughters who are approaching adolescence and as a filmmaker, I think that teenagers need to have access to age appropriate and thoughtful resources to help them navigate through this turbulent episode of their lives.My goal was to create content about important topics for teenagers who are starting to explore their sexuality, such as sexting or pornography and to find a medium with the power to reach younger audiences. I started to understand that YouTube is redefining television for millennials and is becoming their main source of media, with 62% of young people in the US checking the channel daily. I hope YouTubers like Jenna keep harnessing the power of the platform and manage to make projects like Hot Summer Daze available for as many young people as possible, by offering it for free.” (source: https://erikalust.com/non-adult-web-series-hot-summer-daze/)
The show was released on a timeline to parallel real life events high school seniors experience throughout the summer after graduation as they prepare for life's next steps. Fans of the series rallied around the season finale, released August 10th, with many praising the show’s authenticity and demanding a Season 2. YouTube fan Poisoned Rose expressed how the series resonated with her personally, “You know, the little things add up and make this amazing. People of different nationalities and sexual orientations introduced without stereotypes, three girls with completely different dating experiences and all presented as normal and valid and okay (which they are), and the small things like...showing the consent moments... It's just refreshing to have a series that reflects my experiences and doesn't idealize or judge. I would have had a much healthier idea of what dating should be when I was a younger teen if I had something like this as an example.”
Creators Jenna and Mitchy have their sights set on bringing these characters and their stories back to life for a Season 2, or for a longer-format version while they continue to develop groundbreaking short-form content for their online audiences. They are working to harness the power this kind of content has when it’s readily accessible for young people to view without barriers such as accessibility to, or money for, subscription services or cable TV.
Hot Summer Daze was nominated for Best Drama Series at Sydney WebFest, Best LGBT Series at London Short Series Festival, and Kali Skatchke was nominated for Best Drama Actress for her work on Hot Summer Daze at Rio WebFest.
Watch the trailer for Hot Summer Daze and binge all 8 episodes, available now with English, Spanish and Hindi subtitles, exclusively on Jenna Larson’s channel.
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