Writer, director, actor, and highly vocal marijuana enthusiast Kevin Smith has been working on producing a new comedy series named Hollyweed for the relatively new streaming platform Rivit TV. The show’s premise follows cannabis entrepreneurs “Pete” and “Nipsy,” Smith and Donnell Rawlings (of “Chappelle’s Show” fame) respectively, who run an up and coming marijuana dispensary and grow operation in Los Angeles.
The show, which has been described by Smith himself as being akin to “Clerks in a weed store,” has the series’ pilot episode follow how Pete’s brand new cannabis strain, appropriately dubbed “Hollyweed,” quickly gains notoriety as well as how a chance encounter with a porn star from Boston, Massachusetts named Janet (aka “Brookline Mass”) while delivering some of their goods to her latest shoot leads to some serious and very unexpected repercussions. The episode also boasts an ensemble cast that includes Adam Brody, Ralph Garman, and Jason Mewes aka “Jay” from the “View Askewniverse.”
Smith and Rivit TV are both counting on fan support for the series with Smith saying that, “It is absolutely in your hands…” if the series continues or not. On a positive note, the show’s pilot (which is currently available on YouTube, with a link at the end of this article) has gone on to earn high praise from the Doggfather himself, Snoop Dogg, singing its praises via Twitter:
Snoop’s feedback on Hollyweed could potentially prompt more and more fans to support the project and allow it to meet its goal of over five million for a complete season.
Smith also credits his love of weed for saving his life. Smith suffered a massive heart attack this past February which could have very easily ended his life. Shortly after, Smith stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and told the story of how he learned that he was having a heart attack and how being in a calm, relaxed state as a side effect of being very high on marijuana helped him survive the type of attack he was experiencing which usually carries with it an over 80% mortality rate. While he joked that he thought the heart attack symptoms that he was experiencing were the result of being a little too high and said so to his doctor, the physician surprised him by saying that having smoked marijuana more than likely helped save his life because of its calming effects.
Given his recent brush with death, Smith has taken to a healthier lifestyle and is notably slimmer halfway through the episode to the point where Donnell Rawlings’s character comments on how thinner he looks seemingly overnight which just adds to some of the more surreal aspects of the show.
Though to this observer, the comedy can be a bit “hit and miss,” the overall quality of the show is great and hopefully we get to see more of Pete and Nipsy’s adventures!
What did you think of the show’s pilot episode? Would you consider signing up to a new streaming service to continue to watch the series if it is “green-lit?”
