A Couple-Ish Side Blog

If Kaitlyn Alexander’s Couple-ish had to be summed up in a single word it would be “unapologetic". The queer web series about a non-binary bisexual illustrator forced into a domestic partnership in order to save their British roommate from impending deportation contains a fearless narrative entirely proud of the people, places and things it loves and stands for.

Season 2 of Couple-ish premiered this past Saturday on our very own Aria Bauer had a chance to sit down with Kaitlyn Alexander, the writer/actor/creator of the series, to get their thoughts on season 1, the upcoming season, and to see if we couldn’t glean a few small spoilers to hold on to. The trailer alone had us brimming with questions about our favorite “fake” dating couple, some sibling drama, and a new face. 

What we heard only made us more excited for the upcoming season, even if this writer did receive some devastating news about her favourite OTP!

netTVnow: The launch of Couple-ish season 2 is in a few days, how are you feeling about everything?

Kaitlyn Alexander: Really nervous and excited. It’s a last second crunch to get everything in on time but I’m super pumped. We’re ready to go.

NTN: Alright, so let’s start with the big question: on a scale of 1 to Gay, where are we sitting?

KA: Oh, we’re at Tegan and Sara attending a concert where they play Come to My Window level of gay.

NTN: So we’re looking good on the gay is what you’re saying?

KA: [laughing] Yeah. We’re good.

NTN: Perfect. So I know that the ending of season 1 left everyone with some questions and some feels, where are we finding our characters as we pick up for season 2?

KA: We’re finding them 3 months after the end of season 1. So they’ve moved apartments and things have changed. Certain people may not be speaking to each other any more. Really, it’s just complicated. There’s a spoiler that we have to dance around so I can’t say much. I will say that things might not have turned out the way people thought they would…

NTN: Was season 2 always the plan or was it something that sprang organically from the success of the first season?

KA: I always planned to do a second season if possible which is why I made that ending [of season 1] so atrocious for everyone. I always wanted to do a season 2, I didn’t know quite where it would go but talking it through with RJ Lackie and Candice Hudson, the other writers, we all fleshed it out and were like ‘oh, this is exactly where it’s headed and it’s going to be great’. 

NTN: The process for funding and creating a season 2 can be very different from a season 1, was that your experience?

KA: It was really different in that for season 1, I literally didn’t have anything to show. I had an idea and I was like “if you guys like this idea, please help me make it.” This season we had an established audience and we knew what we wanted to do so I wanted to make it very clear that we were upgrading the quality of what we were going to do. I wanted to make sure that this time we had a demo video to show what we were going to do differently. It was just as hard as always, crowdfunding anything is really always difficult, especially because we need to ask for more money this season. Last season I horrendously under-budgeted the season. So this season we said let’s do this and let’s do it right. I think that I can be proud of what we’re coming out with. 

NTN: You wear a whole bunch of different hats in this production with writing, acting, and creating, is there any one of those aspects that you’ve really been enjoying as we approach this season?

KA: This might be a surprise and it might not be but this season I took more of a showrunner role and I wrote less. I heavily directed where I wanted each episode to go which was really fun because Candice and RJ brought out stuff in the characters that I don’t think I would have been able to write myself. Taking that showrunner role on was a lot more fun for me than just looking at a page and writing and rewriting lines that I would just have to say over and over again. Writing for yourself is just the worst. Because Dee’s such an asshole, I just want to make them less rude so I don’t have to be so rude!

NTN: Based on the trailer, it looks like Dee and Amy are going to be spending some time at odds this season which is a flip on season one where they were so close at the start.

KA: Yeah, they’re siblings. When you get in a fight with your siblings sometimes it’s much worse than if you got in a fight with anybody else in the world. So they’re real deep. They’re real deep with that sibling frustration. 

NTN: So where does that push to include such a strong sibling relationship come from? So often with webseries and media we see the romance side front and center but you guys have done a great job of bringing in that family aspect as well. 

KA: To me family is a huge part of my life and I don’t see it often in a lot of media. The shows that I react to strongest have really good sibling relationships like Supergirl with Kara and Alex. So I just wanted to build out more of a dynamic then one person falling into another person. Life is a lot more connected to family for a lot of people so I just really wanted to include that relationship in there. 

NTN: In episode 1, we see Dee’s mom a little bit. Did you want to speak to that at all?

KA: Not a lot of people know but Dee’s mom was kind of based off of my mom. My mom is very public with the fact that she did not accept me at first for being nonbinary but she’s come around. Mrs Warson [Dee’s mom] is not foolproof but she is a mom and she does very much care even though she’s made a lot of mistake. I wanted to show that it’s possible for people to grow and learn from their mistakes but that while they’re learning, they’re going to make even more mistakes. So she’s trying but she’s not perfect. I think that’s difficult for Dee and everyone around them to try and navigate this newfound relationship that they’re trying to build. 

NTN: Speaking to representation, we’ve seen a really strong presence of female, non binary, and queer voice in the show. Was that an intentional push or something that fell into place as you wrote the characters?

KA: That comes from my need to see more female and non binary voices out there. THis season especially I made a challenge to myself. I wanted to prove that a show could be really strong without having male voices in there. There is only one dude in the entire season and he has one line. That was a choice that was definitely intentional. I don’t think I’ve seen many shows that have just female and nonbinary people in the roles. 

NTN: Now that you mention it, I’ve definitely seen shows with all male voices but nothing is coming to mind with a cast like yours. 

KA: Yeah. So I just want to see if it was possible and I think we proved that it’s very much possible. 

NTN: We’ve talked about siblings but we cannot forget the massive set of love triangles.

KA: [laughs] I don’t know what you’re talking about.

NTN: Yeah, you’ve just got a whole love dodecahedron going on. So what I was wondering was if you were going to complicate that further with the new characters coming in.

KA: Complicate is a strong word. I always set out with a plan of who would end up with who from the beginning of this. It’s probably not going to be what anyone expects it to be and that’s all I can say.

NTN: So lots of shipping opportunities is what I’m getting.

KA: Oh, so much shipping.

NTN: With the new characters, can you tell us anything about them? 

KA: Cal is our big new character this season. She works at Dee’s mom’s flower shop and has worked there since she was in high school so she has a very strong connection to Amy and Mrs. Warson. Amy was often at the flower shop but Dee doesn’t really go because they haven’t had a strong relationship with their mom. Dee hasn’t met Cal but Cal has been around the family for a very long time. She’s very well spoken, doesn’t take shit from anyone, is very funny, and is probably my favourite character in the show. I’m excited for people to met her. She’s the only new character. Jamie was around last season in a much smaller capacity but I messed around with her a little season. 

NTN: Season 1 put everyone through the feels grinder so after watching this next season, what do you hope that fans come out feeling?

KA: Hopeful and happy. I think that this season is a lot about growth for every single character. I think it’s a lot about finding who you are, what makes you happy, and heading towards that. I want to make some really really positive stuff happen this season. There’s bumps along the way for sure but I think that people will come out being really happy once they’ve watched the entire season. I won’t say they’ll be happy the whole time but they’ll get there. 

NTN: Fake dating. I’ve got to touch on it because it’s a trope that I know everybody loves and you’ve used it as a framework for the show. What was the reason for going with that angle and will be seeing more of that side of things in season 2.

KA: There’s definitely more vlogs and I chose to go with fake dating because it’s a trope that I actually love. I’ve read so many fanfictions that are surrounded by that concept. I grew up on them. I wanted to flip the trope on its head a bit. It may be the trope on the outside but it’s definitely not the trope once you dig in.

NTN: So what then would you say is the actual heart of the show?

KA: Oh. That’s difficult.

[sounds of intense thinking]

KA: I think the actual heart of the show is that I wanted to make it as close to real life as possible. Nobody’s perfect and everyone has flaws but those flaws make them human. So I think that the heart is just a bunch of people who have been thrown into a situation and they all have flaws that may not complicate each other but they are what each other have. So it’s about that relationship, about making the most of what they’re given. 

NTN: Alright. Final question. So we’ve got the love triangles but I have to ask you about my OTP which is Rachel and her hats. Will they be back?

KA: I’m going to break your heart on this one.

NTN: Oh no!

KA: So little secret is that last season we had hats because we didn’t have time to do hair.

[conversation breaks down in laughter on both ends]

KA: So they’re not back. I’m not sure she actually wears a hat at all this season.

NTN: I mean, you’re breaking my heart but I understand. 

KA: I had to do it. 

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Coupleish Season 2 Trailer - LIVE REACTION

Here it is. The Official Season 2 Teaser Trailer for Couple-ish Season 2.

A full length trailer will be out closer to the premiere date.