#VIEWPOINTS BY SAM BAILEY

I’ve always been interested in the human condition. Differences tend to be muddled when we get down to core emotions: love, fear, anticipation, anger, lust-all of these very human feelings have always intrigued me as an actor and a writer. You’re So Talented came from not seeing representations of those human emotions in diverse characters. Women, especially women of color, are usually depicted as one-dimensional people. Stereotypes dictate how we are seen in mainstream media and it was beginning to eat away at me.

The characters in YST are, I hope, complicated. They’re a little messy. Their actions contradict their emotions. In short: they get to be human. The same amount of care I took into creating the characters of the series is mirrored by our creative team. Artful Enough Pictures, Samantha Lee, Alistair Slaughter and Vincent Martell are just as committed to telling complex, layered stories whether it be in their filming, music or styling. I’m lucky to call them collaborators. I’m lucky to have a team of people who are first and foremost storytellers-which is why I think we’ve tapped into something special. The entire production flowed pretty seamlessly and it’s because everyone believed in telling a story that reflected the life we live in-and telling it well. I’m excited to share what we created with an audience. I’m even more excited to keep on creating with this team of special, talented, complicated folks. 

Watch the first episode of You're So Talented below: 

You're So Talented is a series following Bea (Sam Bailey), an out of work Chicago artist, as she navigates her twenties and its inevitable dramas. // MUSIC // Samantha Lee, "Sleep In": https://soundcloud.com/samanthaleesings/sleep-in-1 Whatever Spectrum, "Right Here": http://apple.co/1BLzj6d // SOCIAL MEDIA @YoureSoTalented // Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Youre-So-Talented/611461848937442 Instagram: http://instagram.com/youresotalented Twitter: http://twitter.com/youresotalented Website: http://www.youresotalented.net // SOCIAL MEDIA @WeAreOpenTV // Facebook: http://facebook.com/weareopentv Instagram: http://instagram.com/weareopentv Twitter: http://twitter.com/weareopentv Website: http://weareopen.tv // CREATIVE TEAM @YoureSoTalented // Sam Bailey Writer // Creator // Executive Producer Chris Tabor Director // Editor // Associate Producer Mateo Gonzalez // Director of Photography // Associate Producer Samantha Lee // Music // Graphic Designer // Associate Producer Alistair Slaughter // Music Morgan D Jensen // Location Sound Mixer // Associate Producer Dakota Loesch // Assistant Director // Associate Producer Vincent Martell // Wardrobe Stylist // CAST @YoureSoTalented // Sam Bailey: Bea Freeman Alexis Atwill: Actor Valerie Lyvers: Actor Dakota Loesch: Shawn Ashleigh Lathrop: Devin // TEAM @WeAreOpenTV // Aymar Jean Christian // Head of Development Stephanie Jeter // Head of Production Elijah McKinnon // Head of Communication and Design