Her Story (web series)

This article is about the web series. For the video game of the same name, see Her Story (video game).

Her Story
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	Jen Richards, Laura Zak
Written by	Jen Richards Laura Zak
Directed by	Sydney Freeland
Starring	Jen Richards Angelica Ross Laura Zak
Music by	Allyson Newman Isley Reust
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producers	Kate Fisher Eve Ensler Sarah Baker Grillo Juliet Lopez Jen Richards Laura Zak Stephanie Bell Tina Pavlides
Cinematography	Berenice Eveno
Editor	Bryan Darling
Original release
Release	January 2016 (2016-01)

Her Story is a 2016 drama web series produced exclusively for Internet distribution. The set of six 9-minute episodes tells the story of two transgender women, played by Jen Richards and Angelica Ross, living in Los Angeles and their struggles in dating and in their professional lives. ^[1]

Characters

Character	Portrayed by	Description	No. of Appearances
Violet	Jen Richards	A transgender woman working as a bartender in Los Angeles.	6
Allie	Laura Zak	A queer reporter in L.A. and love interest of Violet.	6
Paige	Angelica Ross	A transgender woman and attorney at Lambda Legal who represents trans women who have experienced discrimination. Violet's Narcotics Anonymous sponsor.	5
James	Christian Ochoa	A straight, cisgender man and love interest of Paige.	4
Lisa	Caroline Whitney Smith	A trans-exclusionary radical feminist friend of Allie's.	4
Mark	Josh Wingate	Violet's abusive boyfriend.	4
Kat	Fawzia Mirza	A lesbian friend of Allie's.	5

Episodes

Episode No.	Description	Original Release Date	Views (YouTube)
1	Magazine reporter Allie approaches Violet in hopes of interviewing her for an article on trans people in the community. Attorney Paige works to help a trans woman who was not allowed entrance into a women's homeless shelter.	Jan. 18, 2016	655,000 [2]
2	While at lunch for their interview, Allie and Violet begin to flirt. Allie finds that her friend Lisa does not accept trans women as women. Paige and Violet discuss how much of themselves they can reveal to others.	Jan. 18, 2016	280,000 [3]
3	While Allie and Violet get to know each other better on a night out, Paige goes on a date with James that goes surprisingly well.	Jan. 18, 2016	264,000 [4]
4	Allie and Violet are interrupted while watching a movie and snuggling when Violet's boyfriend Mark comes home. Allie begins to fear that Violet is in an abusive relationship. Lisa denies that trans women should be allowed in women's shelters after meeting Paige and her associate Pema. Paige begins to open up to James.	Jan. 18, 2016	251,000 [5]
5	Violet abruptly departs Bad Penny's concert, leaving Allie confused. After talking to Penny, Allie follows Violet back to her house to find that Mark had beat her. And not for the first time.	Jan. 19, 2016	245,000 [6]
6	After outing Paige as transgender, Lisa is confronted by her. Paige then faces James, who reveals a truth of his own and accepts Paige as she is. Violet leaves Mark's home for good and goes to Allie, kissing her in lieu of words.	Jan. 19, 2016	333,000 [7]

Production

Jen Richards originally planned on producing the web series for $10,000, but when producer Kate Fisher joined the project, $40,000 was raised through crowdfunding, and the series budget capped at $150,000 with the addition of two grants and money from Fisher's savings for graduate school. ^[8] Richards claims she was able to publicize the series widely in part due to her connections with trans people, especially those like Caitlyn Jenner, with whom Richards worked with on her show I Am Cait , and others such as Laverne Cox, Kerry Washington, and Eve Ensler (who came on as an executive producer).

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2016	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series	Nominated	[9]
	Gotham Independent Film Award	Breakthrough Series - Short Form	Won	[10]
2017	Aritos Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Short Form or Web Series	Won	[11]
	GLAAD Media Award	Special Recognition	Won	[12]

References

1. "How "Her Story" Challenges the Way We Think About Trans Romance". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
2. HER STORY S1, Episode 1 , retrieved 2020-02-17
3. HER STORY S1, Episode 2 , retrieved 2020-02-17
4. HER STORY S1, Episode 3 , retrieved 2020-02-17
5. HER STORY S1, Episode 4 , retrieved 2020-02-17
6. HER STORY S1, Episode 5 , retrieved 2020-02-17
7. HER STORY S1, Episode 6 , retrieved 2020-02-17
8. "'Her Story': How a Web Series Can Save Lives". Film Independent. 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
9. "Outstanding Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2016". Television Academy. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
10. "Past Recipients – IFP Gotham Awards" . Retrieved 2020-02-21.
11. "The Casting Society of America". www.castingsociety.com. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
12. "28th GLAAD Media Awards: Complete List of Winners". variety.com. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-21.