COVID-19 has led to a worldwide shutdown, with many people unsure of what to do next. Everyone is stuck at home, awaiting the day when things go back to normal. For many, this is an anxious time. Colorado Mesa University (CMU) film student James Rich, however, has decided to put this time to good use. Rich is currently creating a TV series called “The End of the World Podcast: with Derek Erik.” 

Rich has compiled a team of actors that are each creating their own individual characters. The entire series is being shot from each of the cast member’s individual webcams because they cannot be together to film the series due to social distancing guidelines. Rich is editing the clips together. 

“I was trying to figure out a way to keep all of us busy in a way that everybody who would be involved will be excited to be involved. And then everybody who would view it would be able to enjoy themselves in this moment,” Rich said. “I think comedy is really important because if you can’t laugh about the things you’re going through, then it’s [going to] be a lot harder, and I think comedy is very important for the healing process.” 

Rich is a 35-year-old cancer survivor. Each day, he deals with significant amounts of pain. But his lifetime dream is to become a filmmaker, and he’s determined to achieve this aspiration.  

“I was just kind of, you know, figuring out what do I want to do and I really want to make film and so I just I’m pushing to get back into it, and it’s been a wonderful journey. It’s like a second life. I’m really, this is what I’ve always wanted to do on my life,” Rich said.  

The show is centered around a vlogger, who will be a satirical take on the social media influencers that we see in our society today. Other miscellaneous characters, such as a nurse, an IT lady and a video game reviewer will be featured. The show’s main premise is to show the effects of a post-apocalyptic society on a variety of different people in a comedic way, as the various characters interact with each other via the internet. 

“It’s a large ensemble cast and the idea is it’s a series of internet stars, you know, and they’re all going to be purposely cringy and awful because it’s going to be black comedy satire. So the joke will be kind of making fun of actual people who do this now. And then everybody can have fun making their own characters,” Rich said. 

Rich is currently developing his own media company called Qabick Cents Productions. “The End of the World Podcast: with Derek Erik” will premiere on Qabick.com.

“It’s very exciting for me because this could be the first major production I actually put out as my company, and this is what I’m going to school for, to build this up to be an independent filmmaker,” Rich said. 

Rich has been working hard to not only edit the clips together, but also to network and communicate with everyone involved. He said that even though he has to spend large portions of his day answering emails and phone calls, it’s been a rewarding process. He was even able to talk to three private video game developers and secure the rights to their games for one of his characters, a video-game reviewer.  

Film professor, Jeff Gustafson, said that because film is considered non-essential, many filmmakers in Grand Junction and beyond are left with not much to do. He said that projects like this one are a great way to tie those in the film community together.

“We have creative people at CMU and beyond who have to stay at home, often in near-isolation. A project like this offers a great creative outlet utilizing the few resources that are still available, often little more than webcam and your imagination. And, as I noted above, James has given the participants a lot of creative freedom, so there’s room to play with ideas and characters however interests them,” Gustafson said.

Meghan Jenkins is an actor in LA who’s been Facebook friends with Rich for a while. He reached out to her to join the project, and she said that she feels very honored and excited to be a part of it.  

“I’m still processing the fact that I was even asked to be a part of something like this. James has been incredible and very easy to work with. He is a visionary. Great direction, easy to communicate with [. . .] I’m so fortunate to be involved,” Jenkins said. 

Jenkins’s character’s story arc is that, in the midst of post-apocalyptic 2027, she hosts an online show called “The Adventures of Pizza Alien” from her closet, using an elaborate set she built herself. She said that throughout the process she has become very attached to her own characters, as well as the other characters in the show.  

“Being involved with something this unique and original is a dream come true. To be able to watch many different characters, and how they handle things, like global pandemics and catastrophes. To see us all having to grow from that, can be inspiring. I’ve been inspired all my life seeing characters who were even a little bit like me. If I can help someone through something they’re dealing with because they see a parallel in what my character does, I think that it is pretty exciting,” Jenkins said. 

Gustafson said that Rich is an extremely hardworking student, and that during the Digital Filmmaking class, that he taught last semester, Rich demonstrated high levels of enthusiasm, engagement and dedication. 

“That he is producing a project like this now does not surprise me in the least—it’s exactly who he is,” Gustafson said.

According to Gustafson, creativity is a great way to deflect and distract against the depression and anxiety that can come from the current global pandemic. He said that the mental health of those in quarantine is something that is being affected on a global scale, and that he believes that being involved in the film has been a relief for the actors and others involved. 

“This sort of unknown outcome on a global scale is a breeding ground for depression and anxiety. Giving people a chance to focus their energies on something other than news of a pandemic, while also creating a community around a common project, can be a great respite for those involved,” Gustafson said.

Jenkins said that she wanted to be involved in the project because she believes that creating in any form is a gift, even in the midst of a global pandemic.  

“None of us thought this was going to happen the way it has. But, you play the hand you’re dealt, and there’s no point in wasting time wishing it were any other way. Onward and upward. Create! It’s a form of love,” Jenkins said.  

The entire process of creating the series has been a remarkable experience for those involved, according to Rich, Gustafson, and Jenkins. “The End of the World Podcast: With Derek Erik” will be released sometime in the next two weeks on Qabick.com.