''Winterthorne'' is a
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
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 in ...
that premiered on August 27, 2015. Starring
Martha Madison as Miranda Winterthorne, the ruthless matriarch of a candy dynasty, the series was created, written and executive produced by Michael Caruso. Caruso previously created the web soap ''
DeVanity
''DeVanity'' is a soap opera web series which ran from April 28, 2011 to March 20, 2014. It was created, written and executive produced by Michael Caruso.
Premise
Richard DeVanity, patriarch of the wealthy and dysfunctional DeVanity family of Lo ...
'', which ran from 2011 to 2014.
In 2016, ''Winterthorne'' received a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
nomination for
Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series.
Kathleen Gati
Kathleen Gati (born 13 August 1957) is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. She appeared on the television series ''Leverage'' in 2009.
Career
At the age o ...
was nominated for
Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for her portrayal of Valentina Winterthorne, and
Kevin Spirtas was nominated for
Outstanding Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for playing Dominic Delacort. The series has also won several
Indie Series Awards
The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...
.
Plot
Miranda is the cold, ruthless head of the Winterthorne candy empire. Her marriage is in shambles, she is estranged from her son and their lives are all in danger. But it was not always this way. A decade earlier, naive Miranda's eyes were opened to her family's best kept secrets, and their violent treachery. Her only means to secure the survival of her loved ones and her livelihood has been to embrace the dark, cruel and murderous heart of a Winterthorne.
Cast
Main
*
Martha Madison as Miranda Winterthorne
* Michael Caruso as Victor Winterthorne, Miranda's husband
*
Gordon Thomson as Maxmillian Winterthorne, Miranda's father
* Josh Thrower as Colin Winterthorne, Miranda and Victor's son
*
Kevin Spirtas as Dominic Delacort, the trainer of Winterthorne men
* John-Paul Lavoisier as Hugh Cambridge, Miranda's former fiancé
Guest
*
Linda Gray
Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CB ...
as Joanna Winterthorne, Miranda's mother
*
Kathleen Gati
Kathleen Gati (born 13 August 1957) is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. She appeared on the television series ''Leverage'' in 2009.
Career
At the age o ...
as Valentina Winterthorne, Miranda's aunt and Joanna's sister
*
Kirsten Storms as Selene Winterthorne, Miranda's sister
* Ron Hanks as Jelly Bean Jim, Dominic's son
* Conrad Bluth as Young Colin
Concept
Taking place over a 10-year time span, the first season of ''Winterthorne'' chronicles the rise of Miranda as the leader of the Winterthorne candy dynasty, with "a modern storyline that runs parallel with flashbacks".
Jamey Giddens of ''Daytime Confidential'' described the series as "a story about smartly-dressed, witch-like beings who use 'nature' to create candy so addictive it leads to a multi-million dollar empire and men groveling at their feet".
Of the candy empire concept, Caruso said, "I thought it would be fun to take something very innocent and happy on the surface and add a very dark undercurrent to it, and kind of create a family that used something like this as a front for something much deeper and scarier."
He noted, "There is something ''in'' the candy, and that’s really the core of this show."
Caruso added:
Setting up the first season, Caruso explained that the Winterthorne family has "reached a crossroads ... Martha's complicated character, Miranda, is taking over, and we'll see over the course of four episodes where she started from and some of the good and not-so-good choices she's made in order to control her family."
Casting and production
Having previously created the web soap ''DeVanity'' (2011–14), Caruso announced ''Winterthorne'' in November 2014, describing the series as "a classic soap with light touches of gothic whimsy" that would be "dark, sexy, glamorous, and a visual feast".
Madison had been cast in the lead role of Miranda Winterthorne, ruthless leader of a candy empire, with Thomson as Miranda's father Maxmillian and Caruso himself set to play her husband Victor.
With production scheduled to begin in Spring 2015, Caruso also announced the addition of director
Sonia Blangiardo, who had previously won a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
as a director for ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' and another as a producer for ''
One Life to Live''.
In February 2015, it was announced that Gray had been cast as Miranda's mother, Joanna Winterthorne.
Caruso said of Gray, "Her character is so important, and really sets everything in motion for, not only the season, but the rest of the series."
He noted, "Linda has a warmth and strength that embodies Joanna ...
wrote this part specifically for her." Next cast were Gati as Joanna's powerhungry sister Valentina, and Storms as Miranda's estranged sister Selene. Spirtas and Lavoisier were later added to the cast as Hugh Cambridge and Dominic Delacort respectively, and Ron Hanks as Jelly Bean Jim.
An April 2015
Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign partially funded season 1 of ''Winterthorne''. The series is executive produced by Caruso and his wife Barbara "Barbi" Caruso, with Steve Silverman of Suchagooddog LLC,
Jim Cannella and Martha Madison as co-executive producers. The series began a three-week production schedule in late March 2015 in the Los Angeles area.
Some of ''Winterthorne'' was shot on location in
Idyllwild (near
Palm Springs, California).
Episodes
Broadcast and reception
A trailer for ''Winterthorne'' was released May 2015,
with an extended version following in July 2015. The series had a
red carpet
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.
History
The earliest known reference ...
premiere at the
Renberg Theater in Los Angeles on August 16, 2015.
Billed as a "four-part online event", the series debuted at Winterthorne.com on August 27, 2015.
The remaining three episodes of season 1 were released weekly on Fridays, starting September 4, 2015.
In May 2015, Luke Kerr of ''Daytime Confidential'' wrote that the initial preview trailer featured "big screen production values (we expect nothing less from Caruso & Co.), fantastic fashion, epic drama and a drizzle of ''
Pushing Daisies
''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to li ...
''-style mythology".
Calling the series "highly anticipated", Michael Fairman noted, "The sweeping epic look, and the fantastical images and costumes have become staples of Caruso’s work, and this series looks to be where all those production values come together in the most spectacular way."
''Daytime Confidential'' Jamey Giddens wrote of the extended trailer, "My blood sugar has gone straight through the stratosphere after just a sampling of the delicious, high calorie confections creator and star Michael Caruso (''DeVanity'') is offering up in his new soap opera ''Winterthorne''." Giddens later wrote of the first episode, "Produced on a shoe-string budget, ''Winterthorne'' boasts cinematography, establishing shots, scene and wardrobe design that puts every current daytime soap airing to shame, with the exception of ''
The Bold and the Beautiful
''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
''. ''Winterthorne'' also brings it where it matters most to soap fans—in the story department."
Kevin Mulcahy Jr. of ''
We Love Soaps
There are multiple media outlets which focus primarily on television soap operas and telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television" ...
'' wrote of episode two, "A compelling script, beautiful scenery, gorgeous clothes and soap stars galore make for fun viewing on any screen. But beware of deadly licorice!"
Awards and nominations
In 2016, ''Winterthorne'' received a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
nomination for
Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series.
Kathleen Gati
Kathleen Gati (born 13 August 1957) is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. She appeared on the television series ''Leverage'' in 2009.
Career
At the age o ...
was nominated for
Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for her portrayal of Valentina Winterthorne, and
Kevin Spirtas was nominated for
Outstanding Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for playing Dominic Delacort.
The series received a record-tying 13
Indie Series Award
The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...
nominations,
and won three.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Winterthorne
2015 web series debuts
2015 web series endings
2010s American drama television series
American drama web series
Internet soap operas