Maeve Quinlan and Jill Bennett Chat about the End of '3Way!'

Popular lesbian Web series 3Way recently closed the books on its one-season run and as fans have been left scratching their heads as to why the comedy starring Maeve Quinlan and Jill Bennett is no more, the two stars took time out from filming 90210 and Outfest events, respectively, to chat with SheWired about just what happened.

SheWired: Why is 3Way ending?

Maeve Quinlan: The sad but true reason 3Way is ending is that shockingly after how popular our Web series was, the awards we won and film festivals we sold out, we got zero financial sponsorship, whether it be via advertising or a network pick up for a second season. As executive producers, I funded the first season with Nancylee Myatt entirely on our own, the crew worked tireless hours for little to no money and the actors worked completely for free out of love for this project. Though we wish more than probably even the fans that we could do a second season, we can't afford to fund a second season entirely on our own again nor ask these actors and crew to do it for free.

Jill Bennett: We're ending because the route that Nancylee Myatt and Maeve Quinlan wanted to take was the network route and unfortunately that did not pan out. There were quite a few networks that were very interested; in fact we were sort of in a holding pattern for most of last year because many of them were interested in trying to find a way to do it, but unfortunately at the end of the day, with the economy the way it is, the fact that most networks are really cutting back on their scripted programming, we could not make a deal happen and at this point, they're not interested in keeping it on the Internet exclusively; they're not sure how they can monetize it. So that is the reason we could not find a network, which given the success of it on the Web, I'm frankly quite surprised by that, but then again I don't work at these networks and I don't know what they're thinking about.

SheWired: What networks were you talking to?

JB: Quite a few. I know that the two gay networks (Logo and Here) were contacted at one point; Comedy Central was very interested in it and there was one other major cable network — I think maybe FX, I'm not sure. I know that there were two other cable networks who were not Here or Logo that were very interested but at the end of the day the show is pretty gay; not that I don't think mainstream audiences would have liked the show, I think it would have been a hard sell in the beginning and as we both know, if something doesn't hit the moment it goes on the air, it's not going to last. So I really wish that they could have kept their business model on the Internet because I really think they might have just been about a year ahead of their time and if they tried to do it now it would be very different. Trying to do it now, we're talking about lots of money invested and it doesn't look like they're going to recoup that.

SheWired: How was the first season funded?

MQ: Cash baby, out of my pocket and Nancylee's.

JB: It was privately funded between Nancylee and Maeve, and maybe a few other private sponsors, but I know that they invested their own money in it, and that speaks volumes of their confidence that we could get an audience, which they were absolutely right about. They got an audience, we had very little PR, we didn't pay for any advertising anywhere and the fact that we got over 2 million hits without any of that is pretty amazing.

SheWired: Do you think it's harder for lesbian-themed content to secure funding?

MQ: I think sadly we just proved that statement to be true. As a straight woman, I am really not only disappointed but shocked. The whole reason we even decided to do this series is that after South of Nowhere got canceled after being so successful, Nancylee, Paige and I said there is just not enough lesbian content out there — particularly comedies. Let's do it ourselves! I'm dejected and perplexed that even an award-winning and proven successful lesbian-themed product like 3Way can't secure funding for a second season.

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JB: If you go the traditional route, absolutely. They learned that lesson the hard way many, many times over. Even after the network route, I think they tried to get advertising revenue and they said that that was next to impossible. So yes, I think if you go the traditional route, I think it's going to be very difficult. For some reason, the people in charge I think still don't understand the value of the lesbian dollar and I'm getting into producing my own content and I know that the money is out there. I've been talking to distributors of gay content and they said that lesbians are one of the most loyal and consistent buyers that they have. I think they're wrong; unfortunately getting them to change is going to take time. I am producing my own Web series right now and it looks like we are going to fund our second season with private investors. We did not try to do the network route because I frankly learned from Nancylee and watched the frustration and the amount of time they put in trying to do that and I said, "You know what, let's forget this; it doesn't matter if we have the most brilliant idea on the planet, it's going to take six months to a year to get these people to sit up and take notice, if at all."

So we kept it independent for our first season, we did it on a nothing budget; it was a labor of love just to see if we could do it and we're definitely going to do a second season, and it looks like we're actually going to have some funding behind us, and this is from private investors. So it's possible to do it and I've noticed online quite a few other Web series have sort of copied our model and put up a donation button in order to raise money and that's fantastic. That's what we came up with because our little, loyal fan base said, "How can we help keep this going. We want more content from you guys and this isn't free to do, so how can we help." So we put up a donation button, and within a week of putting it up, we had covered the cost of our first season. Our little brain starts working and now we think that this is the model: take it straight to the consumer and cut out the middleman. That seems to be the best option because now within a few months of completing our first season, we're going to be filming our second season in August. The benefit of knowledge came from 3Way and watching the route that they took and deciding that we could not take that route because honestly, if an Emmy Award-winning producer like Nancylee cannot get this going, I certainly can't. If this woman, who has so much experience and so many shows behind her can not convince a network to roll the dice on a show that already has an audience, I certainly am not going to be the next person that tries.

SheWired: What's your Web series?

JB: Right now it lives on JillBennett.com, it's called We Have to Stop Now, I'm in it with Cathy DeBuono and Suzanne Westenhoefer, who actually plays our couples therapist. The content is probably not going to be up there for much longer because we're about a week or two away from signing a distribution deal which will make it available on DVD. It looks like we're going to be signing this deal and there will be exclusive content on the DVD that is not going to be available online. We will be launching WeHaveToStopNow.TV the end of August and by mid-September, the bridge episodes that will bridge Seasons 1 and 2 will be up, with some content being held back from Season 1 for the DVD. Then it looks like we'll be filming Season 2 of the show in late fall, possibly on the Sweet cruise in November because we're going to be on the ship already with Suzanne and so we thought, "Wouldn't that be fun to shoot a little bit on the cruise." There's going to be all kinds of tie-ins and fun stuff to do, and perhaps a walk-on role for a fan. All of that will be up on the Web site the end of August.

SheWired: Are there any plans to put 3Way out on DVD?

JB: I know right now that their plan was to put it up on the site and that you could download all of the content including the cover art and burn the DVD yourself. They're still trying to figure that out. They're working out the tech buts on it, but their plan is to give it out for free. … Those of us who have been online and making content the past few years find it an extremely frustrating process to be here where we are knowing what it is the girls want to see and literally screaming it from the rooftops to the people in charge, saying "We know what they want, we can sell this!" and having them shrug their shoulders and move on to the next crappy reality show that they're going to do. That's what's going on, so you have to accept the reality and work around it.

SheWired: Do you think advertisers favor gay-male content over lesbian content?

MQ: As far as television and Web series go, I don't think there is enough content for either, period. But I will say that, I definitely can see with my own eyes that when it comes to magazines, they along with the advertisers most definitely favor gay male content over lesbian content. There is most certainly a glass ceiling of sorts in this community when it comes to that, I think. Again, as a straight woman, it saddens me to say in my opinion lesbian women do not get enough visibility, enough power and a strong enough voice when it comes to all media content, as far as I can see in their own community. It is hard enough to get it when it comes to the hetero-community so I really would like to see advertisers, magazines, networks and the gay-male community embrace and stand behind and promote lesbian content just as much they do gay-male content.

JB: Of course they do. There's no question. They do, I think primarily because there is more money in the gay male community; there is more disposable income there. It is changing though. They are starting to recognize the value of the lesbian dollar in particular but it's still a very difficult sell and unless you are on a very gay-specific Web site, getting advertising for your very gay show is really, really difficult to secure. I know 3Way had a really aggressive team behind them trying to secure advertising — we're talking about a major agency who has been very successful doing this — and they were not able to get one advertiser interested in the show, which is completely ridiculous. Going the corporate route right now does not seem to pay off right now. So yeah, I do think the advertisers really ignore us. But according to some of the people I know in the Internet advertising world, it is starting to change. But we're looking at two to three years down the road before we see any significant change.

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SheWired: What would it take for 3Way to return for a second season?

MQ: Money. Plain and simple. Funding. But not funding to do it the way we did it first season. People showed up to work for us for free or very little money for the first round. You can't expect nor would we ever expect them to do it again for little to no money. These actors went above and beyond the call of duty and never got paid a cent. Our award-winning directors, too. Our editors. The list goes on and on. You can't ask people to show up again without this second season being a fair payday for everyone. Not to mention we have a first deficit that we would have to break even on before even churning out a second season. So the long and short of it is, proper funding.

JB: Ideally (a TV deal) would be a much faster way of (getting the series to come back). The other way that it could happen is if a private investor could come forward. The show definitely could happen if we had a private investor come forward and want to fund it. Major distribution companies are interested and the problem is like the chicken and the egg: we need the money to create the show but if we create the show we can get a distribution deal, which will get the money back. But it's that initial risk that someone would have to be willing to take. We're hoping some fabulous rich lesbian out there instead of buying her fifth house would want to take a chance and do something for the community to keep this content coming because frankly I don't see it coming from the networks. I don't foresee some great lesbian show coming out in the next year. I could be completely wrong; I have a lot of friends who work in this industry but from what I've heard there's really not a whole lot coming down the pipeline for us.

SheWired: What sort of feedback did you get from doing the Web series?

MQ: This was the most rewarding project I have ever worked on for so many reasons. Personally, professionally, and seeing first hand the affect it had on and the appreciation it got from such an incredible community. The best feedback was laughter. People looked forward each week to see what 3Way girls were going to get themselves into this time. Gay, straight, male, female, old, young … it didn't matter what demo or slot you "fit into"; this show appealed to everyone and made everyone laugh. That to me was the greatest feedback. Though lesbian-themed it, it actually crossed brought all communities together to share one common thing: laughter.

SheWired: Would you consider doing another lesbian-themed Web series?

MQ: Absolutely. But I wouldn't fund it myself.

SheWired: Now thatThe L Wordand 3Way are gone, what other lesbian content exists online?

MQ: Not enough!

SheWired: What did you enjoy most from your experience working on 3Way?

MQ: Three things: First, Maile Flanagan, Cathy Shim and Jill Bennett! Those girls are so amazingly talented and I had never done sitcom comedy before, so I looked forward every day to them walking in that door. Second, writing with Nancylee, Paige and Maile; and third, editing the confessionals.

SheWired: What's your next project?

MQ: I am presently recurring on 90210 playing Constance Tate-Duncan, we've started our second season. As far as producing goes, next up is I'm producing a feature film called Doing Dara and am presently working on getting funding for that.

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