Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Barbelle’s Gwenlyn Cumyn and Karen Knox

Gwenlyn Cumyn and Karen Knox are the geniuses behind the hit digital series, Barbelle. The pair created the show because there wasn’t enough representation for queer women in television that was hitting the mark. Since its premiere, Barbelle has been streamed over four million times, and season two just dropped. Pop Culturalist got the inside scoop from the ladies themselves.

PC: For readers who may not be familiar with the series, tell us about Barbelle, your characters, and what inspired the series.
Gwenlyn and Karen: We like to describe it as the gay soap opera of your dreams with good jokes, or if you prefer, a woke lesbian Spiceworld for 2019. The show is a short form digital series, and season two JUST started airing! You can watch it on Shaftesbury’s YouTube channel, KINDAtv. The series was inspired mostly by a drive to create a show that we would have wanted to watch as teenage girls. There simply wasn’t representation for queer women that was hitting the mark in terms of quality TV shows, so we decided to make one!

PC: What can fans expect with season two?
Gwenlyn and Karen: Well, not to let the cat out of the bag TOO MUCH, but we’re extremely excited about one of the episodes that is essentially an homage to the gay reality TV show masterpiece, The Real L Word. We played around with form a little bit more this time around. We didn’t want the tone to sit in one place for the entire season, so fans can expect a real rollercoaster of emotions paired with some hilarious over-the-top queer iconic parody.

PC: The series has been well-received and has over four million streams. What were your expectations when you created the series?
Gwenlyn and Karen: We honestly had no idea people would be this invested! The first season of Barbelle was our maiden voyage into creating television. We both come from a performance background, so there was a pretty intense learning curve when we first began.

PC: You’re both wearing many hats for this project. How challenging is that? Is there one you naturally gravitate towards?
Gwenlyn and Karen: YES. Oh my goodness YES. We’re definitely both getting better at putting on our grown up lady pants when it comes to producing. Producing is interesting—you’re supposed to be “in charge”, but any good producer ends up working for the rest of their team. It’s kind of like being the primary caregiver in a household; any work that doesn’t get done falls to you, and sometimes that work involves a three-hour phone conversation with a catering company trying to explain that some of your mostly vegan crew can’t eat four-cheese lasagna.

PC: The series covers several timely topics. Is there one that you’ve yet to cover that you’d like to in season three?
Gwenlyn and Karen: SEASON THREE? I think our hearts just exploded. No confirmation on that yet! One topic that we’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the lack of queer women’s spaces in our city. After the closure of pretty much all the lesbian bars here, we’re interested in highlighting the need for a new space! Maybe that’s something we look at in Barbelle, maybe that’s a different series entirely.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Karen: Beat Bobby Flay
Gwenlyn: Pretty Little Liars, Formula 1, and Drive to Survive.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Gwenlyn: Dracula Untold

PC: Favorite book?
Karen: SO MANY. Ugh. My latest favorite was Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Karen: I am 8000% down for Hamilton right now.
Gwenlyn: The Crucible

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Karen: Meatloaf

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Karen: Fleabag season two!
Gwenlyn: Fleabag season two!

PC: Hidden talent?
Karen: Getting red carpet ready in airport bathrooms.
Gwenlyn: I can pour two beer taps at the same time.

Catch Barbelle season two on KINDAtv now!