This New Web Series Shows How BDSM Can Be Empowering — And Sweet

Get an exclusive look at Slave 4U, a new series about a shy girl who takes on a position of dominance when she finds a slave — and a new friend — on the internet.

Full disclosure: Jamie Hanson and Arielle Sallai are friends — such good friends, in fact, that when Jamie needed an apartment on LA's Eastside to shoot her web series Slave 4U, Arielle was happy to offer her own. Little did she know that meant she'd wake up to a man in a leather slave hood in her living room.

The series, now available on Vimeo on Demand, tells the story of Maggie (Bridgette Tomashewski), a shy girl who learns to feel empowered and stand up to her roommate Cece (Ianna Vasale) when she finds a BDSM slave named Todd (Andrew Blackwood) on the internet. In a sweet twist on audience expectations, however, the BDSM element is anything but sexual, instead providing a way for the characters to push each other to step outside of their comfort zones and learn what they're truly capable of.

Since shooting the series, Jamie immediately got to working on her follow-up, Hers & History, a sexy comedic web series starring Lindsey Shaw of Pretty Little Liars and Mike Bailey of Skins as a couple who decide to be honest about their past sexual experiences.

Now, nearly a year later, Jamie met up with Arielle at a cafe near her characters' on-screen apartment to talk BDSM, female-driven content, fifth grade bullies and more. Check out excerpts from their conversation below.

Jamie Hanson, Writer/Director

Arielle Sallai: What was the inspiration behind the series?

Jamie Hanson: When I was in college I was in a dorm room connected to AIM so you could talk to anyone in the building, and this guy would randomly message me and offer to be my slave. I would kind of indulge him and ask, "Well, what would you do as my slave?"

AS: You never took him up on the offer?

JH: No, I never did. But I asked him, "Would you come over and clean?" And he said, "Yeah, whatever you need me to do." And that sounded really tempting. Then I wasn't sure if it would be weird, either. I learned that he had actually messaged all of my roommates as well, and none of them even considered. I was the only one that was really considering it. And I would sometimes just fantasize about, like, what if I did let him come over and clean and maybe we'd end up becoming friends and watch movies together and I'd boss him around.

AS: Did any other films or TV shows inspire this?

JH: The main character Maggie was inspired by — a girl who recently showed up again, which is funny — the character in Donnie Darko who is always like, "Chut up!" It's such a small part in that film, and I saw the actress again recently in Orange is the New Black, and it was exciting to realize that was her and to see her in a more prominent role. But her Donnie Darko character was just so funny and quirky I wanted to imagine what her life was like.

AS: What was the most surprising thing about creating the series?

JH: Whenever I film something I feel like there's this roller coaster process of loving the script, then hating the script, then loving it again, and then it's exciting while we're shooting but it's also frightening, and then you go into post and it's exciting to see it but then there's things you wish could be better, and then it's scary again. In this case though, the most surprising thing is how much I've fallen in love with it all over again, because it's just so sweet. It has a good message, but it's also weird.

AS: Yeah, that's what makes it special — the fact that you're playing with people's expectations of BDSM by making the tone so sweet.

JH: I like to say that this is family friendly BDSM, because it's a web series that is meant to be edgy in the most not very boundary-pushing kind of way. The edge is still very close and it doesn't go too far out there. I feel like everybody's mom could probably watch this web series. Maybe they'll be slightly freaked out, but by the end of it they'll go, "Huh, that was actually pretty sweet."

AS: What were you looking for in your casting choices?

JH: When I cast Ianna for Cece I was actually worried, because she was such a sweet girl, and I really didn't want a sweet girl for Cece's character. But she got into that role, she did it so well, and it's funny to see her act that way because she's such a ball of fun. For Maggie, who was played by Bridgette, I felt like it was really important to find someone who didn't fit the typical Hollywood mold. I saw so many different headshots and sometimes in the casting process you just see the same type of people over and over again and we really wanted someone who was different. We started to wonder, are there any people attracted to acting that are that different, or is that why I'm getting the same people? So I was lucky when I came across Bridgette, because she didn't fit that mold, and I wanted someone who definitely was more an outsider herself.

And then for Todd, he was played by Andrew. Andrew was perfect for the role because he has this soft teddy bear way to him that I felt was really important to that character. I needed someone who didn't grow up being a masculine bro type who is just able to go into sports and have his life planned out for him, but someone who is a little more fringe.

AS: It's so much about the tone of his voice too.

JH: Yes. He just has a really soothing, calm voice, and he's very relaxed and down to earth, which just makes it even better to see him juxtaposed with the slave hood. I think that's half the comedy — his demeanor mixed with the visual of seeing him in a slave hood.

AS: Was that dichotomy something that played off your interest in the BDSM world and the message you were trying to say about it?

JH: With the slave hood, I just had this image of a guy in a slave hood who dressed normal, but he happened to wear the slave hood 24 hours a day. And I thought that would bring a lot of comedy.

AS : Did you ever think about why he wore the slave hood?

JH: It was just who he was. We all have things that are part of us. Me and you have bangs. I think about how many times people call me bangs or something. It's funny to realize that something has become such a big part of your identity. And then what I was exploring with the BDSM aspect of it is exploring whether it's sexual or not. Because I feel like there's this line that you can't draw around it because it's not explicitly sexual, it's about power. The people in the BDSM world, some of them it is just in the bedroom, and for some it's a full time thing, where people who are in these slave-master relationships will wear a collar 24-7. Outsiders kind of view it as, oh they are wearing some kind of collar, it seems like a sexual thing, but I feel like this series explores that maybe it's not that simple.

AS: Is your lead character's journey one that you can relate to?

JH: Underneath the main story of Slave 4U I feel like it's about being an outsider and how it takes befriending another outsider to feel like you fit in. That's what I was really exploring, and I can really relate to that. When I was younger I was pretty dorky and Maggie's story is a little like mine, where in fifth grade I was reading a lot of books on aliens and I had a bully. And that experience, it's so small and yet it plays into who I became.

AS: If there was a season 2 where would it take us?

JH: If there was a season 2 I think I would want to explore the BDSM world in a deeper way, and definitely allow for it to get a little kinkier and push the boundaries a little bit further.

AS: What can we see from you next?

JH: Coming up next is my web series Hers & History which is about a couple that decides to start sharing their sexual pasts. And this is a much bigger project, and that will be online at some point, maybe this summer. We're very close to finishing it — it's in post. It has Lindsey Shaw from Pretty Little Liars and Mike Bailey from Skins, which is very exciting.

AS: Why is it important for you to tell stories that are female focused like this one and like your next series is?

JH: Being a woman, I have that to offer — my female perspective — but I also feel like there's a lack of female voices in the industry and so more female stories need to be told. I have so many different sides of myself that I can use to inspire my characters, and haven't run out of sides of myself to explore yet.

Watch Slave 4U over on Vimeo on Demand and like Jamie Hanson's upcoming project on Facebook for updates on its release.