Human Telegraphs
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy
The heightened comedy of Arrested Development meets the voyeurism of High Maintenance in a quirky female-driven series that captures the magic of strangers caught in unexpected intimate collisions in NYC. We’re three visionary women on a mission to create bold & authentic female protagonists.
Human Telegraphs
New York City, New York | Series
Comedy
2 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $33,850 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
271 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
The heightened comedy of Arrested Development meets the voyeurism of High Maintenance in a quirky female-driven series that captures the magic of strangers caught in unexpected intimate collisions in NYC. We’re three visionary women on a mission to create bold & authentic female protagonists.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THANK YOU for your support in the production of Season 1. We’re now in post-production—which you can be a part of too! Head over to htelly.com to find out more!
Haven't seen our trailer nor pilot? Check it out on the Media tab!
How It All Began
Human Telegraphs was born on a fateful February evening in 2016 when Fern Lim, Kayla Conroy, and Rachel Kay Barclay decided to produce a media project with equal amounts of magic, comedy, and heart. Shortly after, show creator and writer, Rachel Kay Barclay, found herself on the subway wondering what personal space really means in crowded cities like New York. What constitutes as ‘private’ in a buzzing urban landscape and what happens when third parties find themselves entangled in other people’s juicy, comedic, awkward, drama-filled affairs? Consequently, Human Telegraphs was born.
Story 
When New York City roommates Trisha, Margot, and Lily find themselves in a financial pickle, they open a ‘human messenger' business delivering messages from customers verbatim to whomever, wherever, and in whatever style the customer chooses.
With personal and uncomfortably intimate words conveyed live to strangers, the budding entrepreneurs find themselves in bizarre interactions colored by varying hues of awkward, comedic, touching, and sexy pizzaz.
Although their approaches to life, love, and career couldn’t be more different, Trisha, Margot, and Lily find common ground over their efforts to get their business off the ground and keep it afloat through thick and thin, all the while trying to figure out their own lives in the process.
Human Telegraphs offers a fun, voyeuristic view into personal relationships of friend and stranger alike and takes viewers behind New Yorkers’ closed doors to reveal the secret and authentic humans of New York.
The World of Human Telegraphs
Human Telegraphs takes place in a heightened, bubbly, and bright version of New York City. Like 30 Rock or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the expansive color and diversity of the city is present, yet it is elevated to an off-the-wall cartoonish playfulness that reflects the inner world of the protagonists and outlandish characters they encounter while delivering messages.
The Team Bringing Our Pilot To Life!
The footage you see, and the pilot you will soon see, is thanks to our amazing Human Telegraphs Pilot Episode team!
Season 1 Breakdown!
Episode 2: Out on a Limb Part I
The joke's on Margot when a message delivery to a comedy club is more than she bargained for, while Trisha and Lily are asked to deliver a mysterious message that gives them the creeps, but will it be an offer they can’t refuse?
Episode 3: Out on a Limb Part II
The girls find themselves in the middle of a heated drama dating back to the Renaissance and Margot has the best day of her life.
Episode 4: H Team Vs. The Pemberlies
Apartment wars in Brooklyn mean blood --- what will the girls do for the perfect Brooklyn co-op next to their favorite farmer’s market and boasting a tree outside their window? Lily follows through on a promise.
Episode 5: This Isn’t What I Thought It’d Be
Singing messages go sour, Margot gets a rude awakening, Trisha goes on a dream date, and Lily’s feminist play debuts with an imposter on stage.
Episode 6: Yeah Right...
Sparks fly when Lily meets her arch nemesis, the girls get entangled in doggie doodoo drama singalongs, and Trisha lets something go.
Episodes 7: Is this Real? Part I
An office romance may be going asunder with one message, Human Telegraphs get the opportunity of lifetime, and Trisha finds her groove.
Episode 8: Is this Real? Part II
The girls attempt to pull off a message performance of a lifetime for the great French avant garde artist, Eliza Bonheur, at her 80th birthday party without dying in the process.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Actors
Costs $4,611
Because CGI was too expensive.
Crew
Costs $13,120
Lights, Camera, and Action! Every role on set from sound mixer to script supervisor to line producer will have a skilled pro behind it!
Gear
Costs $817
We film with HD cameras & equipment, like dollies, as well as sound & lighting equipment. Hard drives store the fantastic footage we get!
Transportation
Costs $1,019
Until teleportation is invented, our cast, crew, and equipment will need a more pedestrian way of getting to set, without being pedestrians.
Nosh and Slosh
Costs $2,461
Humans need feeding, especially 20+ cast and crew members working 10-hour days! (And by slosh we merely mean caffeination & hydration.)
Publicity & Advertising
Costs $2,755
Because yelling in Times Square will only get us so far.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Insurance & Legal
Costs $5,678
Sometimes things *gasp* go wrong! This will help us deal with mishaps with ease!
Props and Costumes
Costs $875
Our own clothes are quirky, but sometimes we need to go those extra miles to hit a level of quirky of which Björk would approve!
Locations
Costs $1,654
Space comes at a premium in NYC! Help us level up for locations after maxing out barters and calling in favors!
Post-Production
Costs $3,666
The story doesn't come together without our amazing post-production team who tell the HT story via editing, sound, animation, and more!
Festival Time!
Costs $394
Spread the news of HT far and wide! But submissions aren’t free, they come with a fee!
Share this update!
About This Team
Our all-female producing, writing, directing, cinematography and editing team features award-winning and critically-acclaimed writer, Rachel Kay Barclay, whose plays have premiered in London, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and most notably, The Kennedy Center, and the award-winning animation of Montana Hall. The show also features Samantha Pyra’s cinematography, which has made its way through several film festival circuits, including the Tribeca Film festival, veteran actress Kayla Conroy’s directorial debut, editor Kate Fisher, whose multigrenre work is featured in independent shorts and webseries to performance art, and art director and actress Fern Lim, who has performed (and created art!) all over the world.
Your help, combined with the talents of these creative powerhouses, will bring Human Telegraphs Season 1 to life! (And to a laptop near you!)
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THANK YOU for your support in the production of Season 1. We’re now in post-production—which you can be a part of too! Head over to htelly.com to find out more!
Haven't seen our trailer nor pilot? Check it out on the Media tab!
How It All Began
Human Telegraphs was born on a fateful February evening in 2016 when Fern Lim, Kayla Conroy, and Rachel Kay Barclay decided to produce a media project with equal amounts of magic, comedy, and heart. Shortly after, show creator and writer, Rachel Kay Barclay, found herself on the subway wondering what personal space really means in crowded cities like New York. What constitutes as ‘private’ in a buzzing urban landscape and what happens when third parties find themselves entangled in other people’s juicy, comedic, awkward, drama-filled affairs? Consequently, Human Telegraphs was born.
Story
When New York City roommates Trisha, Margot, and Lily find themselves in a financial pickle, they open a ‘human messenger' business delivering messages from customers verbatim to whomever, wherever, and in whatever style the customer chooses.
With personal and uncomfortably intimate words conveyed live to strangers, the budding entrepreneurs find themselves in bizarre interactions colored by varying hues of awkward, comedic, touching, and sexy pizzaz.
Although their approaches to life, love, and career couldn’t be more different, Trisha, Margot, and Lily find common ground over their efforts to get their business off the ground and keep it afloat through thick and thin, all the while trying to figure out their own lives in the process.
Human Telegraphs offers a fun, voyeuristic view into personal relationships of friend and stranger alike and takes viewers behind New Yorkers’ closed doors to reveal the secret and authentic humans of New York.
The World of Human Telegraphs
Human Telegraphs takes place in a heightened, bubbly, and bright version of New York City. Like 30 Rock or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the expansive color and diversity of the city is present, yet it is elevated to an off-the-wall cartoonish playfulness that reflects the inner world of the protagonists and outlandish characters they encounter while delivering messages.
The Team Bringing Our Pilot To Life!
The footage you see, and the pilot you will soon see, is thanks to our amazing Human Telegraphs Pilot Episode team!
Season 1 Breakdown!
Episode 2: Out on a Limb Part I
The joke's on Margot when a message delivery to a comedy club is more than she bargained for, while Trisha and Lily are asked to deliver a mysterious message that gives them the creeps, but will it be an offer they can’t refuse?
Episode 3: Out on a Limb Part II
The girls find themselves in the middle of a heated drama dating back to the Renaissance and Margot has the best day of her life.
Episode 4: H Team Vs. The Pemberlies
Apartment wars in Brooklyn mean blood --- what will the girls do for the perfect Brooklyn co-op next to their favorite farmer’s market and boasting a tree outside their window? Lily follows through on a promise.
Episode 5: This Isn’t What I Thought It’d Be
Singing messages go sour, Margot gets a rude awakening, Trisha goes on a dream date, and Lily’s feminist play debuts with an imposter on stage.
Episode 6: Yeah Right...
Sparks fly when Lily meets her arch nemesis, the girls get entangled in doggie doodoo drama singalongs, and Trisha lets something go.
Episodes 7: Is this Real? Part I
An office romance may be going asunder with one message, Human Telegraphs get the opportunity of lifetime, and Trisha finds her groove.
Episode 8: Is this Real? Part II
The girls attempt to pull off a message performance of a lifetime for the great French avant garde artist, Eliza Bonheur, at her 80th birthday party without dying in the process.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Actors
Costs $4,611
Because CGI was too expensive.
Crew
Costs $13,120
Lights, Camera, and Action! Every role on set from sound mixer to script supervisor to line producer will have a skilled pro behind it!
Gear
Costs $817
We film with HD cameras & equipment, like dollies, as well as sound & lighting equipment. Hard drives store the fantastic footage we get!
Transportation
Costs $1,019
Until teleportation is invented, our cast, crew, and equipment will need a more pedestrian way of getting to set, without being pedestrians.
Nosh and Slosh
Costs $2,461
Humans need feeding, especially 20+ cast and crew members working 10-hour days! (And by slosh we merely mean caffeination & hydration.)
Publicity & Advertising
Costs $2,755
Because yelling in Times Square will only get us so far.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Insurance & Legal
Costs $5,678
Sometimes things *gasp* go wrong! This will help us deal with mishaps with ease!
Props and Costumes
Costs $875
Our own clothes are quirky, but sometimes we need to go those extra miles to hit a level of quirky of which Björk would approve!
Locations
Costs $1,654
Space comes at a premium in NYC! Help us level up for locations after maxing out barters and calling in favors!
Post-Production
Costs $3,666
The story doesn't come together without our amazing post-production team who tell the HT story via editing, sound, animation, and more!
Festival Time!
Costs $394
Spread the news of HT far and wide! But submissions aren’t free, they come with a fee!
Share this update!
About This Team
Our all-female producing, writing, directing, cinematography and editing team features award-winning and critically-acclaimed writer, Rachel Kay Barclay, whose plays have premiered in London, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and most notably, The Kennedy Center, and the award-winning animation of Montana Hall. The show also features Samantha Pyra’s cinematography, which has made its way through several film festival circuits, including the Tribeca Film festival, veteran actress Kayla Conroy’s directorial debut, editor Kate Fisher, whose multigrenre work is featured in independent shorts and webseries to performance art, and art director and actress Fern Lim, who has performed (and created art!) all over the world.
Your help, combined with the talents of these creative powerhouses, will bring Human Telegraphs Season 1 to life! (And to a laptop near you!)