Although the Halifax-shot series 2Gether 4Ever?, now available on Bell Fibe TV1, has all the hallmarks of a standard rom-com, for creators Taylor Olson and Koumbie, it resides just outside the genre.
It’s about how couples give each other love and generosity while being on different pages about something.
“It was conceived as almost an anti-rom-com rom-com,” says Koumbie. “Each episode is filled with arguments, bickering or fights, but love prevails and they find a way to work it out.”
“It’s about how couples give each other love and generosity while being on different pages about something,” adds Olson. “They’re already in love now, and they’re just figuring out how to keep it.”
In this latest project from Olson and Koumbie’s Afro Viking Pictures, in 2Gether 4Ever? the two play a version of themselves as they navigate the intricacies of love in the modern age.
“They’re heightened versions of us,” says Olson. “It’s not word for word by any means, but I would say it’s definitely based on a lived experience that we share.”
“Or things that our friends have talked about or are dealing with in their own relationships,” adds Koumbie. “It’s about what is it like to be in a relationship now as people in their late twenties, or early thirties.”
Based on their 2020 short film I Hate You, the set-up for this new five-episode series begins with a New Year’s Eve party that the family thinks is an engagement party.
“Which brings up the question of if they want or should ever get married, and they don’t necessarily agree,” says Koumbie.
“That leads to other conversations later on around kids, pets or even threesomes,” adds Olson. “It is all these questions they have about the relationship, with each episode delving into one of those themes, and how they feel about it and navigate it.”
Filmed on a micro-budget over seven days at their family home in Hatchet Lake, the series also features family and friends, including Koumbie’s parents.
“We love to make it a family event and I have a little thing going where I try to sneak them into as much as possible,” says Koumbie. “In Bystanders, we had them come and do a photo shoot, and if you watch the movie, you can see them in the background of the cabin. This time, the two play their real selves as my mom and dad.”
Although Olson didn’t have the opportunity to work with family, the series features some of the couple’s best friends in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
“We shot most of it in our house in our backyard, so it felt almost like a fun little film camp, where our friends hung out with us for a week and shot this little show,” adds Olson.
And while shooting on a small budget had its challenges, the weather was also a factor, playing havoc with an already tight schedule.
“It’s always weather,” says Koumbie. “When you shoot in Nova Scotia in January, there will always be a snowstorm.”
Despite their challenges in creating it, Olson says 2Gether 4Ever? is not just a chance to see something “light, fun and playful.”
“It was shot with an entirely Nova Scotia cast and crew and is a great way to have a laugh and support local at the same time,” he says.
For Koumbie, it is all about providing some much-needed escapism.
“It feels like we’ve had a heck of a year, and so these are bite size little bundles of fun where you can take a second and hopefully enjoy yourself before you get back to all the craziness,” she says.
2Gether 4Ever? is now available on Bell Fibe TV1 and the Bell Fibe TV app for Bell Fibe TV customers. Visit tv1.bell.ca for more information.