Adulting (web series)
# Adulting (web series)

#Adulting is an American comedy-drama web series created by and starring Ben Baur and Thandi Tolmay. It follows two friends, Max and Faye, who are nearing 30 and have yet to put their lives in order.

After producing two episodes and launching them on YouTube, Baur and Tolmay funded the production of four more through a May 2016 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly US $19,000.

## Premise

Best friends Max and Faye are faced with the reality that they are nearly 30 years old and have no money, careers, or boyfriends.

## Cast

* Ben Baur as Max
* Thandi Tolmay as Faye
* Peter Sudarso as Austin
* Michael Perl as George (season one)
* Aubrey Marquez as Eddie (season two)
* Keir Kirkegaard as David (season two)

## Development and production

Ben Baur and Thandi Tolmay, who graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy with series director TJ Marchbank, conceived #Adulting while celebrating Baur's 29th birthday. Baur said, "We came up with the idea for #Adulting because we wanted to tell stories that were tragically relatable to this really odd time in life, when you're supposed to be a grown-up and you're just ... not." Baur is known for starring in the 2012–2015 web series Hunting Season, and in 2015 was named by Out to its Out100 list.

After two self-funded episodes launched on YouTube were well received by fans, Baur and Tolmay funded the production of four more through a May 2016 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly US $19K. Guest stars include Drew Droege and David Del Rio. The new episodes premiered on October 7, 2016 at the Brooklyn Web Fest, and were later put on YouTube.

## Episodes

### Season one (2016)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Length |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | "Meet Max and Faye" | TJ Marchbank | Ben Baur & Thandi Tolmay | January 14, 2016 (2016-01-14) | 4:55 |
| Faye reveals that her ex-boyfriend was threatened by her close friendship with Max. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Hipster Hell Hail Mary" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay | April 22, 2016 (2016-04-22) | 6:44 |
| Faye finds that she has little in common with her hipster internet date, who questions her about Hemingway and orders gluten-free pizza. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Pictures of Posteriors" | TJ Marchbank | Zac Hug and Ben Baur | October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16) | 8:53 |
| Faye gets Max hired on a photo shoot, but commands him to resist his usual urges and not have sex with any of the models. Guest: Drew Droege as Dewey. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Malbec and Malice" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay | October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16) | 7:49 |
| Max and Faye decide to fix their lives, but a bottle of wine leads them to a sobering evening. |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Downward Dog Disaster" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay & Ben Baur | October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16) | 8:53 |
| Max drags Faye to a yoga class, where he gets special attention from the instructor. Guest: David Del Rio as Damien. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Bathroom Boyfriend Bereavement" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay & Ben Baur | October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16) | 13:20 |
| Faye faces a personal crisis while Max is busy at a business meeting. Guest: Peter Sudarso as Austin. |||||||

### Season two (2018)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Length |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | 1 | "Birthdays, Breakups, & Brunch. Part One: "The Birthday"" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay & Ben Baur | November 29, 2018 (2018-11-29) | 4:02 |
| Max is having a personal crisis as he turns 29 years old. |||||||
| 8 | 2 | "Birthdays, Breakups, & Brunch. Part Two: "The Breakup"" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay & Ben Baur | November 29, 2018 (2018-11-29) | 2:53 |
| Austin asks Max to move in with him, and Faye wakes up in bed with Austin's bro coworker David. |||||||
| 9 | 3 | "Birthdays, Breakups, & Brunch. Part 3: "The Brunch"" | TJ Marchbank | Thandi Tolmay & Ben Baur | November 29, 2018 (2018-11-29) | 4:56 |
| Max tells Faye and Eddie that he broke up with Austin. |||||||

## Reception

Katrina Alonso of Out called #Adulting "hilariously awkward". Writing for Instinct, Adam Dupuis deemed the series "binge worthy".

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2017 | 8th Indie Series Awards | Best Web Series — Comedy | | Nominated |
| 2017 | 8th Indie Series Awards | Best Lead Actor — Comedy | Ben Baur as Alex | Nominated |
| 2017 | 8th Indie Series Awards | Best Guest Actor — Comedy | Drew Droege as Dewey | Won |
| 2017 | 8th Indie Series Awards | Best Original Song | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Won |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Comedy Series | Ben Baur, Thandi Tolmay, TJ Marchbank, Rob Craven, Mark Heidel | Nominated |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Lead Actor — Comedy | Ben Baur as Max | Nominated |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Lead Actress — Comedy | Thandi Tolmay as Faye | Won |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Guest Actor — Comedy | Michael Perl as George | Won |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Guest Actor — Comedy | Drew Droege as Dewey | Nominated |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Directing — Comedy | TJ Marchbank | Nominated |
| 2017 | LA Webfest | Outstanding Writing — Comedy | Ben Baur, Thandi Tolmay, Zach Hug | Nominated |
| 2019 | 10th Indie Series Awards | Best Comedy Series | | Nominated |
| 2019 | 10th Indie Series Awards | Best Lead Actress — Comedy | Thandi Tolmay as Faye | Nominated |
| 2019 | 10th Indie Series Awards | Best Lead Actor — Comedy | Ben Baur as Max | Nominated |
| 2019 | 10th Indie Series Awards | Best Writing — Comedy | Ben Baur, Thandi Tolmay | Nominated |
