''That's My DJ'' is a Canadian

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

created by D. W. Waterson. The series, created in 2014, follows the lives of several people who work in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, c ...

industry. It has been funded through various Indiegogo

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaigns. The first season originally premiered online in 2014, before being re-released in 2016, following the release of the second season on

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. A third and final season premiered online July 7, 2017. Since its release, the series has won several awards, including at the

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and the

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. It additionally received two

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nominations.

Background

''That's My DJ'' was created by Canadian DJ D. W. Waterson in 2014. They wanted to create the series because they felt that the stories of

LGBT women ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

and

women of colour The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

and their importance in the

industry and the electronic music scene were not being told. In an interview, Waterson discussed their intentions with the series, saying:

Being a DJ myself I found myself looking around the clubs and bars thinking there are so many interesting characters set against this colorful background, why isn’t anyone telling this story?! It was that moment that inspired me to write and create ''That’s My DJ''.

Waterson collaborated with other creatives in the Toronto arts scene to create the series and initially relied on self-financing to produce the project. The first season of the series originally premiered online in 2014, after a successful

campaign via Indiegogo; however, after it struggled to attract viewers, it was subsequently pulled from YouTube. Following the success of the second season in 2016, the first season was re-uploaded to YouTube. The second and third seasons were also funded primarily through Indiegogo campaigns. Each season consists of 8 episodes, with a total of 24 episodes over three seasons. As of 2020, the three seasons have been viewed over 3 million times cumulatively on YouTube.

Plot

The series focuses on the nightlife scene in Toronto and each season follows a different character, ranging from

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

(seasons 1 and 3) to event promoters (season 2). The second season deals with an LGBT relationship between two women.

Cast and characters

Main

Emily Piggford Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

as Meagan (season 1–3) *

Jade Hassouné Jade Hassouné (born 18 February 1991) is a Lebanese-Canadian actor, dancer and singer. He is known for his roles as Meliorn in the US television series ''Shadowhunters'' and as Prince Ahmed Al Saeed in the Canadian series ''Heartland''. Under t ...

as Sam (season 2–3) * Jacob Neayem as Simon (season 1)

Recurring

Kelly McCormack Kelly McCormack is a Canadian actor. She has worked in film, television, and on stage, and she runs her production company, Floyder Films. She is best known for her portraying Zeph in the Syfy science fiction television series ''Killjoys'' and ...

as Dee (season 2–3) * Nico Racicot as Lucas (season 2–3) * Kristian Bruun as Peter (season 2–3) * Dayle McLeod as Hannah (season 2) * Kyle Mac as Kyle (season 1)

Reception

'' NOW Magazine'' called the series "well-produced, well-acted, and well-written". ''

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...

'' dubbed the series a "must-see—even if you're not in the music scene". TalkNerdyWithUs.com described the series as "funny, exciting, inventive, occasionally maddening, always beautiful, and heavily invested in the duality of heartbreak and optimism". ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...

'' praised the series for its portrayal of LGBTQ+ women of colour.

Awards and nominations

The series has won various awards, including the Best Director award at the 2016

for Waterson, as well as Best Canadian Series and Best Director at the 2017

. The series has received two

nominations, for

's performance in 2016, and for Waterson's direction in 2018.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title Canadian drama web series Canadian LGBT-related web series 2010s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series