Stage

Caught in the Web

UWEC alum tackles online dating in comedy series

Michelle Enger |

The online comedy Weblove, created by UWEC alumn Benjamin Klema, examines the pitfalls of online dating.
The online comedy Weblove, created by UWEC alumn Benjamin Klema,
examines the pitfalls of online dating.

“Love is complicated, Match is simple.” “Live. Love. True love could be right around the corner.” Online dating sites like Match, True, eHarmony and more use dating slogans like these, grabbing the attention of singles looking for love. After trying a dating site himself, Benjamin Klema, decided to turn all the faux pas of online dating into an Internet comedy series called Weblove.

“It’s like the thing that nobody wants to talk about, a lot of people do it, a lot of people do it but nobody wants to talk about it so the show is the way of talking about it,” said Klema, a 2010 UW-Eau Claire graduate. Klema – who now lives in Los Angeles – and his friend Dan Elortegui are the creators and writers of the new series. (You can watch it at youtube.com/WebloveTheSeries.) The series follows the viewpoints of a male (Ben) and female (Jane) both using the internet to find “the one.” Klema said the show appears to be relatable to its audience so far. One of the viewers recently told Klema “this is just like my life right now.”

“It comes from a place of being able to laugh about those weird dates whether or not (they are) online dates,” Klema said.

Klema has even incorporated his own blind dating experience into the series. However, the characters he creates from real-life experience are very exaggerated, he said. One example is in the third episode when Klema’s character dates an environmentally conscious woman. There was one moment on a real-life date that created the character.

“She turned off my lamp and said, ‘You shouldn’t leave your lights on all the time,’” he recalls. “It was only that one thing, it wasn’t really that weird, but it blew up into a character.”

Since launching the series Oct. 15, Klema has been releasing a new episode every Wednesday. With six episodes already filmed, plans are in the works to create more now that the creators have seen the show gain a small following online. Tune in Wednesday night for the next episode of Weblove to see if Jane and Ben find love.