The 12th Annual Indie Series Awards: Recap, Complete Winners List and Photos - Celebrating Indepdendent Series Creators

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

At the back entrance of the Colony Theater in Burbank California outside of LA in April 2022 it was back to business as usual -  the business of showbiz for the 12th Annual Indie Series Awards.

As a nominee, with my VAX card in hand and my 5:20pm slot I eagerly awaited entrance onto the bustling Red Carpet. While standing outside mingling with the cast of  Anacostia and Status Update I heard complaints about the heat wave LA was going through. But having flown in from the cold East Coast it was a refreshing change of temperature or this East Coaster. 

Once inside the theater, Brad Forenza (Creator of Around the Sun Podcast) and I struck our poses on the carpet and then mingled with the fellow nominees and presenters in the line for the bar. The Indie Series Awards,  like so many other awards shows during the pandemic, did not have live ceremonies but Roger Newcombe, founder of the awards made the decision to go live-in-person and you could see and feel the the energy in the room. All these creatives were ready to be out.

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The night before there was a well attended pre-party at a cute little restaurant in Burbank. It was a great opportunity to say hello to new people and catch up with those we had only been seeing on Zoom. I was so out of practice mingling at one point I felt like I was going to pass out. 

So going into the Awards Ceremony, which was masked, I made sure I hydrated. The show started with a rather funny monologue by hosts Patrika Darbo and Anna Maria Horsford  that incorporated many of the nominated series in it. 

The ceremony itself was a joy to watch, there were lots of clips to see which always adds to an awards show, some touching speeches by the winners and musical performances. I walked away with a list of shows to watch. And that is the whole point of the Indie Series Awards, recognizing the work of creators that may not have their content on a major platform but deserve to be seen. This year, they also recognized podcasts. Kudos to Roger Newcombe and Susan Bernhardt for continuing to represent and promote independent series creators.

Here is a list of the winners, photos from the event are below the list. Photos by Michael Mattes.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
For the Record

BEST INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Capital Roar (Colombia)

BEST DIRECTING – DRAMA
Arthur, Nick Rusconi

BEST WRITING – DRAMA
Anacostia, Anthony Anderson

BEST LEAD ACTOR – DRAMA (tie)
Kristos Andrews, The Bay
Erik Fellows, Purgatory

BEST LEAD ACTRESS – DRAMA
Tamieka Chavis, Anacostia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – DRAMA
Jun Winter, Love Undone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – DRAMA
Kira Reed Lorsch, Rumors

BEST GUEST ACTOR – DRAMA
Draper Wynston, #Washed

BEST GUEST ACTRESS – DRAMA
Lauren B. Martin, Anacostia

BEST ENSEMBLE – DRAMA
Rumors

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Cady Did

BEST DIRECTING – COMEDY
Cam_Girlfriend, Daniel AM Rosenberg

BEST WRITING – COMEDY
The Amazing Gayl Pile: Last Resort, Morgan Waters & Brooks Gray

BEST LEAD ACTOR – COMEDY
Jason Stuart, Smothered

BEST LEAD ACTRESS – COMEDY
Cady Huffman, Cady Did

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – COMEDY
David Lavine, Searching for Sylvie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – COMEDY
Linda Purl, Claire-ity

BEST GUEST ACTOR – COMEDY
Scott Adsit, Cady Did

BEST GUEST ACTRESS – COMEDY
Joyce Van Patten, Cady Did

BEST ENSEMBLE – COMEDY
The Salon

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Rumors, Edward W. Salerno

BEST EDITING
On a List, Mike Donis

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Cady Did, Scott Michael Salame

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Glasscock Park, Kenneth Favell

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Anacostia, Anthony Anderson

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Here With Me" from Letters to Daniel, Written by Stephanie Ray

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Amazing Gayl Pile: Last Resort, Vanessa Magic

BEST MAKEUP
Roads to Keystone, George Barr

BEST AUDIO FICTION SERIES
Jack and Lou: A Gangster Love Story

BEST WRITING - AUDIO FICTION
Clutch: Chapter 3, Jonathan Robbins

BEST ACTOR - AUDIO FICTION
Leigh Joel Scott, Jack and Lou: A Gangster Love Story

BEST ACTRESS - AUDIO FICTION
Jillian Clare, Clutch: Chapter 3

BEST ENSEMBLE - AUDIO FICTION
Forever and a Day

Lots of photos below. To find out more about the Independent Series Awards, past winners and to submit for next year, visit: https://www.indieseriesawards.com/

Hosts Patrika Darbo and Anna Maria Horsford

Eric Lutz presented an award

The iconic Carolyn Hennessy

Cady Huffman DID walk home with many awards

The team behind THE SALON

Forever and A Day Podcast

Status Update

The Old Timey Spectral Tour

Around the Sun Podcast

Anacostia

Patrika Darbo

Anna Maria Horsfeld

The team of Rumors

The team of Purgatory

The Bay

PHOTOS COURTESY OF INDIE SERIES AWARDS by Michael Mattes / @mlmattes