Check out Wolf TV’s Preview: http://ncsu.edu/wolftv/2010/08/26/the-suite-season-2-promo/
Tonight on Wolf TV is the premiere of the second season of The Suite, a sitcom about a group of suitemates that is written, produced and acted entirely by NC State students. The show revolves around the lives of eight unique individuals, each embodies a different stereotype about college life.
Tyler Helms, a sophomore in Civil Engineering, is the writer, director and mastermind behind the project. Helms also plays the main character, Richard Siemens, who is the self-appointed leader of the suite. The character is actually based on fitness mogul Richard Simmons, as he is annoyingly chipper and energetic, often dancing when no one is looking.
Siemens also has another inspiration, however, and it is one that underlies the entire show.
“When I had the idea for The Suite, I was watching seasons 1-5 of The Office straight through,” Helms said. “I was really inspired by Steve Carell’s character.”
Helms was inspired by Carell’s sarcastic sense of humor, as well as The Office’s use of non-conventional camera angles. The Suite employs the same concept as The Office in that the show is filmed in documentary style, with characters looking directly at the camera at times, and giving interviews about how they’re feeling about certain people and events.
Haynes Brotherton, a sophomore in history, plays Xbox 360 addict Jeffy Madison on the show, a sort of adopted suitemate who plays Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 non-stop throughout every episode. He said that The Suite was developed as a response to a perceived lack of funny shows on Wolf TV.
“We were randomly watching Wolf TV, and saw what people were doing” Brotherton said. “And we just thought, ‘We can do it better.'”
Although the show only began filming near the end of last year, the true genesis of the show took place far earlier, when three groups of friends met in high school.
When Helms came to State with Jacob Gray, his best friend from high school, they didn’t know anyone. Brotherton, Alex Keener, Wes Boyles and Luke Shivers also knew each other from high school, as did Kirby Howe and Adam Baxter. They all came together through an awkward encounter initiated by Brotherton, the alpha male of the group, as well as the social icebreaker.
“I’m the guy that does things that make everyone in the room feel really awkward,” Brotherton said. “So one day, me and my friends were on our way to hooters, and I walked up to Jacob’s door with my junk hanging out to ask him if he and Tyler wanted to come. He was totally freaked out, but we’ve all been friends since.”
The success of any ensemble show is dependent upon its diverse cast of characters, and The Suite has this covered in spades. Every group of friends, for example, must include a foul-mouthed ladies man, a role that Luke Shivers’ character, “Trojan” Troy Tuckher.
Shivers, a sophomore in engineering, said that his character hits kind of close to home.
“I say a lot of sarcastic things in real life,” Shivers said. “Sexual Innuendos, you know, which my character does as well. That, and I don’t struggle much with the ladies, so in a way, I am Troy.”
Next there is the requisite Jock, Julian Thomas Irons, played by Alex Keener, a junior in mechanical engineering. His character is universally referred to as J.T., an acronym for “jacked and tan.” J.T.’s character bio sheet says it all: “J.T. definitely has his priorities in line – Gym first, then school.”
In fact, each character in “The Suite” has a similar mini-biography, each caringly crafted by Helms before shooting ever began. This guarantees that each character stays within his given archetype at all times, and remains specific and well defined.
One of the most interesting by-products of this process is the character Jack Asmith, a studious and thoroughly disagreeable suitemate who ended up in the suite as the result of a room assignment mishap.
Asmith, or “jack-ass” as he is usually called, is the only member of the suite that is ever seen studying. He gets angry at various suitemates throughout the episodes, adding the proverbial vinegar to their adolescent oil.
“Jack-ass” is also a constant thorn in the side of Richard Siemens, but luckily, Siemens has someone in his corner as well.
Ben “Bennigans” Murphy, played by mechanical engineering sophomore Jacob Gray, is Siemens’ wingman, the Dwight to Richard’s Michael Scott.
“Bennigans is timid,” Gray said. “He hasn’t really grown up, so, in a way, he looks up to Richard. No one has Richard’s back, but if anyone is even close, it’s Bennigans.”
Rounding out the cast are Wes Boyles, a junior in program management, and Kirby Howe, a sophomore in business. Boyles plays Bill Gainer, a con-artist/Craig’s List entrepreneur with a tendency to steal his suitemates’ belongings to sell them online.
“I once had 36 Craig’s List tabs open at one time,” said Boyles. “That’s where they got the idea for my character.
And while Boyles embraces his character’s similarities to himself, Howe is decidedly unhappy with his character’s one-note personality.
Lance Lambert is very fashion conscious, and as a result, every time he says anything, someone says, “Man, that is so gay!” Lambert consistently responds with “How is that gay?” and then business continues as usual.
“My character is basically just a comedic break,” Howe said. “How would I describe my character? It’s a pile of s**t!” he joked.
Whether or not Howe likes his character’s role on the show, it serves an important role. Whenever the action slows down or things seem too serious, his job is to bring levity into the proceedings. Helms and company are quite aware of the necessary ingredients of a quality sitcom, and are paying close attention to every detail.
Although the subject matter may seem juvenile at times, the cast and crew of The Suite are taking this show very seriously.
“We were thinking about pitching the show to MTV,” Helms said. “You know, ‘cause they have lots of shows that are filmed by just a regular video camera.”
And while MTV is, for now, only a glimmer in Helms’ eye, the near future of The Suite is looking very bright.
The guys are planning on releasing 13 episodes this semester, once a week on Wednesdays. In addition, they are holding a theatre screening of a couple episodes in Witherspoon Theatre on November 1.
So far, their Facebook group has 350 members, and the first episode of season one has over 750 views on You Tube. Their visibility around campus is also increasing on a daily basis.
“When we’re walking around campus, people will yell ‘Yeah, The Suite!’ at us,” Helms said.
“Keener and I have walked into parties,” Brotherton added, “and been called by our show names. I mean, by people we don’t know. It’s like, ‘Hey Jeffy!'”
