Young American Bodies
Written byJoe Swanberg
Kris Williams
Karl Jacob
Directed byJoe Swanberg
Kris Williams
StarringJoe Swanberg
Mollie Leibovitz
Karl Jacob
Nathan Adloff
Kris Williams
Eve Rounds
Nikita Word
ComposerNick Wright
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes32
Production
ProducersJoe Swanberg
Kris Williams
CinematographyJoe Swanberg
Kris Williams
Karl Jacob
EditorJoe Swanberg
Running time5–8 minutes
Original release
Network
ReleaseJanuary 2006 (2006-01)

Young American Bodies is an American web series, which originally premiered on Nerve.com and aired on IFC and at IFC.com in the United States until 2009.[1]

Considered to be the first Mumblecore television series,[2] each short episode looks into the intersecting love lives of six twenty-somethings in Chicago and was known for its honest portrayal of sexuality.[3]

The series was produced and directed by Joe Swanberg and Kris Swanberg, and featured actors Greta Gerwig, Lynn Shelton and Karl Jacob.

Cast and crew

Major characters

Crew

Name Position
Joe Swanberg Producer, writer, director, director of Photography and editor
Kris Williams Producer, writer, director, cinematographer
Karl Jacob Writer, cinematographer
Kevin Bewersdorf Opening Titles and Theme Song
Nick Wright Music

Episodes

Season 1 (2006)

# Title Original airdate Production code
01"January 1st, 2006"N/A101
Maggie's New Year's resolution is to stop being that girl who only sleep with guys who have no interest in dating her. Cassie, her roommate and friend, vows to help her. Roommates Ben and Dia talk about staying in on New Year's Eve and instead talk about dreams.
02"Maggie's Big Move"N/A102
Ben has to decide if he will answer Maggie's call or hook up with Dia's friend.
03"The Silent Treatment"N/A103
Dia confronts Ben about her friend, while Maggie gets ready for the big night as Casey tries to talk to her about relationships.
04"Faking The Band"N/A104
Ben walks in on Dia in bed, and talks to Maggie about her private affairs.
05"All Grown Up"N/A105
Casey and Noah try and makes things work.
06"The Blue Dress"N/A106
Ben and Maggie brainstorm t-shirt ideas for the band, when Ben gets a call from his ex-girlfriend who wants him to hang out with her.
07"Drama Free Night"N/A107
Dia talks to Ben after he regrets spending the night with his ex. Ben takes Casey out to dinner to try to help her with her problems with Noah, but Maggie suspects other reasons.
08"Funny Is Good"N/A108
Maggie and Ben are at a coffee shop, but Ben can't work on the band's website because he is distracted by Maggie's flirtations.
09"She Said No"N/A109
Noah comes back to get his stuff after the proposal to Casey. Ben starts to wonder if he should be in the band when Maggie misses another meeting with the web designer.
10"A Touch Test"N/A110
After Ben may have taken romance a little too far, Dia tries to help by playing "cupid." Maggie is tired of going out and wants to hang out.
11"Girls Night In"N/A111
Ben wants to make-up with Casey, but her Girl's Night In with Dia and Maggie spoils his plans. The girls get into a game of Truth or Dare, testing Maggie's limit.
12"Calm and Tame"N/A112
Ben watches as Kelly helps Dia move out. He tries to connect with Casey, and wonders whether or not Maggie is making him happy or putting him in a difficult situation.

Season 2 (2008)

# Title Original airdate Production code
13"Do Not Disturb"N/A201
14"You Look Good"N/A202
15"In The Wave"N/A203
16"A Terrible Idea"N/A204
17"One Month Later"N/A205
18"Maggie's Big Move"N/A206
19"In The Flesh"N/A207
20"A Familiar Face"N/A208

Season 3 (2009)

# Title Original airdate Production code
21"A Better Proposal"N/A301
Studying with Sarah isn't as fun as when Ben was dating her. Dia and Kelly think about getting married, and Maggie thinks about coming back to Chicago.
22"Dating for Nerds"N/A302
Ben likes a girl at the local coffee shop, but it's not clear whether or not she thinks he's being cute or obnoxious. Noah's relationship status turns 180 degrees.
23"A Real Smile"N/A303
Dia makes some rules about her engagement ring while Ben receives a very engaging photography lesson from Natalie.
24"Your New Neighbor"N/A304
Maggie's moving back, but Ben is not happy with who her new neighbor is going to be. Meanwhile, Kelly's back massage turns into a boob massage with Dia at the helm.
25"Maggie Comes Home"N/A305
After Maggie comes home, Ted disappears into Ben's room. Noah and Owen try a new position.
26"In Ted World"N/A306
Ben distracts Natalie at work and Maggie tries to resist Ted.
27"A Real Workout"N/A307
Ben decides he needs to get into shape and Dia is there to help out. Maggie meets a guy at school.
28"The Fantasy Hurdle"N/A308
Ben and Sarah talk and he explains how he didn't want to answer the phone in front of her because of "boyfriend voice." The conversation continues to heat up as Natalie talks about auditioning for "The Secret World of Alex Mack."
29"A Little Disappointing"N/A309
After Noah and Owen hang out in the morning, Noah shows Kelly "2 Girls 1 Cup." Dia's engagement ring hunt is not turning out as she expected.
30"The Resting Pose"N/A310
Natalie's new tattoo gets Ben excited about scrawling all over her. Maggies gets a Yoga lesson from Ted.
31"A Friendship Buffer"N/A311
While Noah updates Ben's tattoo, Ben frets over Sarah and whether or note they can still be friends.
32"Kind of Fast"N/A312
Kelly pops the question to Dia, while Natalie asks her own question of Ben. So Ted asks a question of Maggie, but the answer may not be the truth.

References

  1. ^ Judy Berman, "Where the 20-somethings are", Salon.com, June 18, 2008 Archived June 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Rogers, Andrew (22 August 2017). "'Hannah Takes the Stairs' and the Coalescence of Mumblecore". The Film Stage. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  3. ^ Crocker, Brian (8 November 2007). "An Indie-Film Darling Makes a Hard-core Soap". New York Magazine.

External links

Works by Joe Swanberg
Category