Multi-hyphenate Edmonton talent on the doorstep of Hollywood
At least one thing is true to real life in the developing sitcom Casanova. It’s “The List” – of every person the main character Cassie had sex with, male or female, doesn’t really matter.
“She’s modelled after a version of myself, and earlier 20s version of myself” says filmmaker Mac Watson, who’s worked her way from Edmonton to the doorstep of Hollywood. “The List is a real thing. My friends have always known about it. It was a way to tell funny stories. People I hadn’t seen in a while would ask me, ‘so, who’s new on the List?’ That’s what I was like.
“But I’m a retired Casanova these days. I’m in my late 20s – and I’m tired.”
‘Reality TV Daddy’ (Matt Rubano) with Mac Watson in Casanova
Watson created, wrote, starred in, and produced the pilot episode while finishing her Master’s degree in film from UCLA. It’s a “proof of concept that became much more” about an outspoken pansexual computer programmer trying to navigate the male-dominated tech industry. Watson says she tried to think of “the field with the most toxic masculinity” where the story could play out – and so tech it was. She worked in the field for two years.
Casanova has hints of similar recent TV comedies: Girls, Fleabag, Better Things, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Schitt’s Creek. Most of these are based on the single vision of a multi-hyphenate writer-actor-producer talent, often a woman. Like most of these new-age sitcoms, Casanova gives realistic treatment to matters that would’ve once been taboo, or played for cheap laughs. The idea of a woman having lots of sexual partners is handled casually, with no shame or judgment, as if it were no big deal. This isn’t your mama’s sitcom.
Watson talks about of how promiscuous women were portrayed in the past: “I never saw women on TV like that who weren’t super fucked up, a train wreck. The whole idea that a women who sleeps around has issues – daddy issues, particularly – that’s just not true. If anything, Cassie is arrogant about her computer talents. She’s got a chip in on her shoulder in every part of her life. The sex part of her life is super fun, and for the most part pretty healthy. She doesn’t need to meet somebody and settle down – that’s not fun.”
Watson has mapped out eight full episodes for the series, which is being looked at by several networks, and is ready to go into full production as soon as she gets the green light.
