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thriving. is an upcoming LGBTQIA+ web series about Lana, a ditzy screenwriter who rarely writes, and her best friend/roommate Mia, who's working a marketing job she hates. Both are busy pursuing (and avoiding) their dreams. After reading the scripts for the 6-episode season set to film this summer, I sat down with Cayleigh Pine to discuss thriving., community, the feeling of "otherness", and never saying no to a queer woman. She spoke fast, her voice crackling with enthusiastic energy as she spoke about her team and her work.
So your production company, CB Studios, started by recording scenes for audition reels. How did you go from demo reels to an original web series? How did that journey begin?
Pine: It's funny because the web series is long form, but it's also still short form. There are 6 full episodes, but they're only 5 minutes in length. I've always been very much interested in the TV space. Like, my dream when I went to film school was to be a showrunner, and that was kind of the goal. As you know, graduating into this industry right now has been a little crazy. I graduated in 2022 when the strikes were happening, and I was in college during COVID, so it was a whole bunch of things sort of being thrown at me. During that time, though, I was still creating short films. I created a thesis film for my BA program, and that was actually a TV pilot (Note: you can watch "The God Couple" here). So, I was always interested in TV and the more narrative spaces. Then, when I graduated, that was when the demo reels were happening, but I always wanted to go back into making something a bit more TV-related or just longer form storytelling. While I enjoyed doing the demo reels, I wanted to make something for myself, too, because I felt like a lot of the stuff I was producing was scenes for other people, and it was never a project of mine. So, that's kind of what happened with this series...
That's so cool that you took that leap of faith. So, was seeing other people "thrive" on social media the inspiration behind the title thriving.?
Pine: Yes! It's very much a sarcastic title, too. I feel like people would ask me "how are you doing?" and I just say "Oh, y'know... thriving." And like, I'd have this fear in my eyes. Like "I don't know what's happening!"
That's hilarious. So, I read through the episodes, and I took a look at your other short films. By comparison, this series feels a lot more grounded in reality. What drove you to take a more realistic approach with this one?
(Pine briefly took a moment to thank me for watching her short films as though I had just given free ice cream on a hot summer day)
Pine: Okay, well, I really appreciate this question. It's funny you asked, because that was something I had to reconcile with. I feel like a lot of my films that I made in my college career were kind of supernatural, or there was some kind of otherworldly element. That was a plot device I really enjoyed. I always liked to explore the concept of "the other". Growing up as a queer woman with mental health struggles, I always felt like "the other". And so I think that was a plot device I really connected with. But I think after graduating, you know, I was really thrown into "the real world" as my character Lana likes to say. And so I realized, you know, there's a lot of "otherness" you can explore in day-to-day life. I was already feeling, as I said, the self-comparison. I was feeling othered by people I was comparing myself to. I also realized, y'know, budget. A lot of the ideas I was having, I would need a crazy amount of money. When you're in a college environment, it's easier to get certain ideas and projects done. But when you're in the real world, all of a sudden, you don't have access to all this great equipment and all these people excited to work with you for free. So I was really trying to figure out what I could make. It's still gonna cost, you know, a little bit, and that's why we're currently fundraising. But it felt doable, and I was really excited about that. And, also, it was kind of a challenge for me too – trying to make something that's kind of more low-stakes and funny. That's a challenge, honestly, to try to figure that out, and I liked that.
Finding a sense of humor that plays in a realistic environment is a task. With all the one-liners and the absurdest beats, it reminded me a lot of 2010s YouTube sketch comedy. Was that intentional? Did you take any specific inspirations?
Pine: Yeah. I definitely think so. It's funny because, like, I was just such an Internet kid. Like, I totally grew up on old YouTube. I was such a fan of, you know, like, Bo Burnham, Jenna Marbles. I totally watched all of them, but I was also super into, you know, web series. I was really into kind of older YouTube comedy sketches that I would see. And I remember I honestly kind of regret, like, at 10 years old, not making my own stuff, but also what 10-year-olds are doing that? But I was really inspired by early YouTube because I feel like that was an early time where, at least for myself, I got to see people, creators, making their own content, kinda doing their own thing. And I feel like right now, especially, people are really saying that that's the new path and the new way to go.
So there were a lot of web series that I was inspired by. They weren't all only in the 2010s, but that definitely earlier YouTube. I remember Jeanette McCurdy released a web series, and I was super invested in that, and I actually feel like that's kinda one of the inspos for this.
And I also remember YouTubers like Anna Akana, who was releasing little sketches and things too. I remember there was a web series that was actually about Wednesday Adams. So I've always been a big fan of the web series, and I feel like it's so underrated.
They really are underrated. We're at this weird juncture where everyone's saying the independent route is the only one you can take, because the traditional route is so gate-kept at this point. And that's sort of what the series is about. How much of it comes from your own experience as an independent artist?
Pine: Pretty much everything. I like to say that Lana and Mia are both sides of my brain. And it's funny too, because we have different directors for our episodes. And hearing them talk about the characters, they're like, "I can't believe Lana would do this." I almost get offended, I'm like, you can't believe that? Then I remember "it's not me. It's not me."
It's funny, though, because, as I kinda mentioned, I grew up being told to pick a specific path in life and a specific career journey, and then I kinda did the opposite of that. I don't know if I consider myself a very brave person, but maybe that was. I don't even know if brave is the right word, but I do feel like it takes a special kind of person to, like, launch yourself into an already unstable industry and be, like, "I'm comfortable with this". Or not even comfortable, but, like, I'm just gonna do it anyway. And so I think that was something I had to reckon with.
A good, like, foil to that is actually – so I developed this show with my partner of five years, my girlfriend, and her name is Sarah, and she's one of our associate producers. She actually is an ICU nurse.
It's a real job. Like, she's saving lives, and I'm out here just, like, writing funny stories. But what's funny though is I had a conversation with her when we first started dating where she told me she thought and, again, these are her words, she thought I was "very brave for going into this industry" and "trying to pursue a dream", because she kinda gave up on her creative pursuits to choose a job that was more stable and guaranteed.
And kinda throughout this process with the web series, she's really been brought back into, like, the creative space while also having her, you know, stable job at the same time. And kind of both of us are realizing, like, we don't have to pick one or the other. Like, we can do both, and that's kind of the beautiful thing about all of this.
You can tell me if this is too much, but have there been any challenges working with your partner?
Pine: Honestly, it's funny. I actually feel like, and she said this too, but I feel like it's actually helped our relationship in a way because it's kind of like we're working on something together with a shared goal. I'm so appreciative of her because she is my biggest supporter with all of my creative endeavors. But with this project in particular, like, she's so die-hard. Like, we're gonna make it.
But, like, having my partner be involved in this, and her perspective as a queer woman, too, has been really helpful as well.
So is it mostly a queer cast and crew?
Pine: Yeah. So, it's we're really trying our best with the community that we have access to and the budget that we have to try and prioritize queer voices, female voices, and nonbinary voices. Our DPs, we have, you know, nonbinary and female DPs. Our directing team is mostly female as well. Of course, our cast is basically all women, which I love.
But we're trying to make that a priority and goal. I always strive for that in the productions that I do. Of course, there are limits and things like that, but, like, we'll never say no to a queer woman who wants to be on my set. We'll never say no.
I think that's a great thesis statement.
Pine: I think that's my statement in life:
"Never say no to a queer woman."
Period. I love that. When are you – in a perfect world – hoping to begin shooting?
Pine: Yeah. So it's coming up. We're shooting our first weekend is May, and so we'll actually be shooting the pilot and then also shooting episode five. We're kinda shooting things out of order. And then our second weekend is also May, so we'll be doing episodes two and four.
And then our third weekend will be in June, and we'll be doing episode three, and then our final episode, episode six.
Well, I'm glad it's right around the corner. So much content these days that's targeted towards Gen Z and, especially, the queer audience, is made by people who have no clue what they're talking about. What do you hope other young queer adults will take away from watching thriving.?
Pine: I just hope people feel less alone. I hope that it helps people understand that, like, you're not alone now, and we're kinda all on the same boat right now, no matter what path we choose. Like, you might go on Instagram, and you think your friend who's just been staffed on a show is living the dream life, but maybe they're living out of their car. Like, you don't know. Or you think about your friend who's, like, making 6 figures at a tech job, but actually they gave up on their biggest dream to do it. And so, you know, unfortunately, everyone is unhappy. And unhappy with whatever path they chose, they're always gonna compare. The grass is always greener.
I think a lot of media that's aimed at Gen Z tends to glamorize a lot of stuff, like, whether it be relationships or career or just the pursuit of life. And even in the moments where it's like, "oh, we're awkward, and we're goofy" or whatever. It's still kinda being glamorized. And so I wanted this show to just kinda just be very, "We're doing our best. Like, we're thriving." I just really wanted to get closer to that than a lot of media I've seen, and making sure people feel represented by that, and they don't feel alone.
Huge thank you to Cayleigh for sitting down with LOF! Be sure to keep track of "thriving." updates by following their Instagram, TikTok, or Pine's YouTube channel. For more information and to donate to their budget, check out their campaign on Seed and Spark.
