Gemma and the Bear is a live-action sitcom-style web series about a timid white woman (Gemma) who turns into an exuberant gay black man (the Bear) when she falls asleep. Bear's goal in life is to help Gemma (and himself) find a man. Gemma just wants to get rid of him.
Starring Kevin R. Free and Eevin Hartsough, it debuted and completed its first season in 2015.
Episodes can be watched on the website
or Vimeo here. You can read more about the series itself here.
This series provides examples of:
- Amnesiac Lover: Gemma has no knowledge of anything Bear does, which makes for some awkward mornings.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Gemma and Tom, Zach's old sidekick.
- Camp Gay: Despite his straitlaced appearance, Bear's personality can be quite flamboyant.
- Cool Old Guy: Gemma's dad Hank likes to hang out and drink with Bear.
- Fratbro: Gemma's childhood nemesis Zach.
- Gollum Made Me Do It: Played for Laughs. Gemma often wakes up to Bear's various messes.
- Guardian Entity: Bear aspires to this.
- Jekyll & Hyde: A non-villainous example.
- Magical Negro: Subverted. Although Bear's primary purpose in life seems to be to help Gemma, he is such a bumbling oaf with plenty of his own problems that he tends to only make things worse. Gemma, for her part, just wants him to go away. Also inverted in that Gemma and Bear are essentially aspects of the same person.
- Manic Pixie Dream Guy: Bear is essentially a gay, platonic version. (Or he tries to be.)
- Mistaken Confession: In the season finale, Gemma thinks the FBI agents are there about Bear kidnapping Tom and locking him in a closet and quickly proclaims she had nothing to do with it.
- Obsessed with Food: Bear is very disappointed with Gemma's fridge of healthy food and devours most of her candy stash.Gemma: "Well. Now you're just going to get fat. TER."
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Gemma's boss Karen.
- Scary Black Man: To Tom and Zach, who apparently referred to Bear as "The Boogeyman."
- The Shrink: Gemma has one. Apparently he was actually pretty good - until Bear's appearance throws him for a loop.
