Sharon Horgan Talks Branded Content and Droga5

Writer, producer and actress Sharon Horgan has recently worked on a branded content campaign for Comcast Xfinity, in partnership with Droga5 New York.

Horgan, star/writer/producer of recent hit comedy Catastrophe, among other shows, worked with Droga5 to create the six-episode series, called Glued, which stars actors, and real-life couple, John Ross Bowie [The Big Bang Theory] and Jamie Denbo [Orange is the New Black].

Focussing on the couples' addiction to TV series' and the measures they employ to watch them, the series' scenes doubtless mirror those in many family homes across the globe.

Below, Horgan chats to shots.net about her involvment in the project and her experience of making it. 

How did you become involved in the Comcast Xfinity campaign?

The Droga5 creative team had seen Catastrophe and wanted their project to have a similar humor and observational tone. They tracked us down through our new branded content company Merman x Pulse, which was created to produce exactly this kind of unorthodox advertising. 

How fleshed out was the idea of the campaign before you came on board?

I laughed out loud at their initial document. The agency wanted to create a show about a couple becoming addicted to a TV show, and the havoc that wreaks on your life when you will do anything to find more time for that addiction. 

They had a lot of spot-on references and ideas, but we needed to build the characters and world around that central idea. We also wanted it to feel as real as possible, the language, the characters and the situations. 

Have you been involved in an ad campaign before and, if not, what was it that appealed to you about this one?

My husband, Jeremy Rainbird, has owned an agency and production company before Merman x Pulse, so I've been around advertising for the last 14 or so years. But this is the first campaign I've scripted and ran. It was the perfect starter project because it was a true blend of scripted comedy TV and advertising.

How far did you have to search for inspiration for the scenes in the episodes?

We did not have to look very far to find ideas for the episodes and scenes in them. All the inspiration for the scenes were found in our real lives, actually. We ran a writer's room with the agency, and through our combined experienced the situations just leapt off the page.

I've since binge watched season six of Game of Thrones and the language I used during the negotiations for when and how to watch that was frighteningly similar.

Why were John Ross Bowie and Jamie Denbo the right choice for the main characters?

We wanted a couple with a genuine chemistry and familiarity with each other. We wanted two people who were comfortable in their relationship and knew each other very well; knew how to inspire or annoy each other with one quick look.

John and Jamie are a real life couple in addition to being talented actors, so they were the perfect choice. They're also very funny people. I'm a fan of both.

There were six episodes made in the series; do you envision there being any more, and will you be involved in their creation?

I hope so. We loved making Glued. It was a properly fun experience. And there are so many more places we can take those characters. It's not hard to write about TV or relationships. That's all I know.

To view all of the Glued series, click here.