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Fempop; June 12, 2014
Summer TV: Ocean of You

CBS’s summer offering Ocean of You premiered on June 10 to above average ratings - 7 million people tuned in for the pilot - and widespread praise on the social media and in publications such as Salon, The Atlantic and The Hollywood Reporter, among others.

Ocean of You is a dramedy set in the San Francisco. The focus is on two women - Taylor, a journalist, and Brooke, a product manager at a tech company - who meet at a convention and are immediately drawn to each other. Yet this is more than just a romance. Although Ocean of You is about the attraction between two women, it is also about the way they navigate their careers, their other relationships and their connection to the city they chose as home.

With a female-driven cast and an up-and-coming newcomer as the show’s head writer, Ocean of You is surely one of this season’s Must Watches for Fempop. It airs on CBS on Tuesday nights on 9PM.

A can of beer in one hand and the television’s remote control in the other, Emily stretched her legs out on the coffee table to watch the new episode of Ocean of You. It was torture to watch it, but she made a promise to Spencer that she would. A promise is a promise. She honoured her end, despite what Spencer did to her.

It only took a few clicks online to find out more about Toby. He was a photographer based in Los Angeles. Emily had browsed his portfolio, and discovered that although he earned his money through fashion and editorial photography, he dabbled in documentary photography. Which should have come off as pretentious if his collections weren’t so great. And from what Emily saw of him, he wasn’t just creative, but he was good-looking, too. She imagined Spencer first seeing Toby’s icy blue eyes and cleft chin as he lowered his camera, and immediately feeling a spark alight in her chest.

Kind of like what happened when she first saw Spencer.

Emily placed the remote on the arm of the couch and fired up the Twitter app on her tablet. She guessed it was network policy, but Spencer was active on social media when the show is airing live, for the east and the west showing. Her last tweet was from two minutes ago: “Are you ready, East Coast?!! LET’S DO THIS”. This was uncharacteristically peppy coming from Spencer. Emily could imagine her cringing as she wrote it out on her own tablet in LA.

The cold open of the episode faded to black and launched into the first riffs of the opening theme’s guitar. Emily sipped her beer as the lyrics ran through her head before the breathy-voiced singer - covering the Bic Runga original - even sang them. I fall into an ocean of you, pull me out in time, she took another sip, don’t let me drown, let me down. I say it’s all because of you.

“You know, you’re never going to forget Spencer if you don’t stop watching her show.” Hanna settled in next to her. There were credits flashing on the bottom left corner of the screen. Created by Spencer Hastings. She sent a pointed look at Emily.

Emily folded her arms. “Seeing her name won’t make me go into a funk. It’s a good show!”

“It’s not even seeing her name that gets you all moody every time you sit down here on a Tuesday night,” Hanna said. “It’s the story, and you obsessing over what - or who - she was thinking of while she was writing it.” She glanced at Emily pulling to refresh her feed. “And you’re also obsessing over what she has to say about what she wrote, no matter how much you know it’s just stuff that pretends to be more personal than it actually is.”

“Whatever.” It was frustrating how often Hanna got Emily pegged.

But at least Hanna knew when to drop it. She turned back to the screen. “It is a good show, though,” she said. She giggled, a little half-heartedly, probably for the purpose of defusing the tension. “I wouldn’t be watching it with you every week, not with my attention span.”

During the first commercial break, Hanna was on her phone, greedily scrolling through her Instagram feed. She had followed plenty of interior designers and landscape architects on the social media application, and so to her, it was a good source of ideas. Emily smiled at her, and she smiled back. They were both aware of the truth; Hanna didn’t have the attention span for many things, not even for television shows late at night when work was supposed to be over. Emily loved her for trying so hard.

AfterEllen.com; June 25, 2014 [Excerpt]
“Ocean of You” creator Spencer Hastings on life, writing and her unexpected summer hit

AE: Am I correct in saying that although you are the creator and the head writer for the show, there is a different showrunner?

SH: Yes, that’s correct.

AE: Now, why is that?

SH [chuckling]: I guess you could say that I’m a baby in Hollywood terms. Ocean of You would not have been possible without the guidance and the legwork provided by an industry heavyweight, Byron Montgomery, who is the current showrunner. The situation right now is temporary. If the network buys more episodes, then Bryon and I have an agreement that he will help me transition into becoming a showrunner - and I love writing, but I’m rather excited for the possibility.

AE: I’m sure the network will buy more episodes. The show is a success!

SH: Well, thanks. You can’t see over the phone but I’m blushing. [laughs] We’ll see. Byron’s handling that end, so I can’t say much about it.

AE: Not even a little?

SH: Let’s just say I got my fingers crossed.

No matter how exhausted you were or how busy you were, when a Hollywood big name asks you to come to a party, you drop everything and go. And that’s what Spencer did tonight. She didn’t go to as many events as Byron Montgomery did, but he was adamant on “training” her to do what showrunners do, so he had asked - no, he had told - her to come to a party in a hotel in LA to shadow him.

Except Byron disappeared into a crowd of people, leaving Spencer standing there with champagne and a variety of hors d'oeuvres being shoved in her face every minute and a half.

An arm wrapped around her waist slowly. “I thought you’d be staying in tonight. With those bug glasses of yours and your giant coffee sippy cup,” the voice was droll, its owner obviously smiling.

Spencer turned to face her icy blue-eyed, strong-jawed boyfriend. “I’m here in a work capacity,” she said. “Byron was supposed to be introducing me to people but I don’t know where he’s gone.” Boyfriend. To think that the journey of them getting to that point involved plenty of deception on Spencer’s part. Deception that she mostly did not feel guilty about.

“Well, I suppose I should be your partner until you two find each other again,” Toby suggested.

“Yes, you should,” Spencer said.

She leaned into Toby’s chest and breathed in the light scent of his cologne. They first met at the CBS studios. Spencer was just leaving the building from one of her endless meetings while Toby - she found out - had snuck in on a different premise, but was actually there to talk to employees and take their photos for a photo essay he was working on about the people behind the scenes of Hollywood. This was a month before she met Emily in Rosewood. In that month, she had been on five dates with him, but nothing more. She didn’t expect to want to continue the relationship, especially after getting to know Emily, but once she got back to Los Angeles, she agreed to go on another date with Toby. A few days later, they went on another date, and finally, they were officially in a relationship.

It wasn’t like Spencer was tricked into it. The truth was that she was lonely. So incredibly lonely. Hollywood was soul-crushing, even to the most enduring of people. Picking Toby over Emily, whom she believed was further away than she could handle, was a choice she blamed on her weak spirit. She knew then that being with Toby was going to be easier than being with Emily. What she didn’t know was that she wasn’t as weak as she thought. After all, it did survive around five months of lying to two perfectly good-hearted people.

And Spencer was still lying to one of them now.

Toby was talking to her: “You should come over to mine after this party,” he said. “I feel like we haven’t spent any proper time together in weeks.”

“I’ve been busy with writing and everything.” Spencer waved in a vague direction. “I’m not really in the headspace right now. Maybe we can go to dinner in a couple of nights when I’ve aired my brain out.”

“Sure.” Toby chuckled at Spencer’s words. That was what Spencer liked about him. He was easygoing; he didn’t seem to overthink things. “A buddy of mine told me about this really good steakhouse near Santa Monica that I’m eager to try. Maybe we can drive out there one night, when neither of us are busy.” That was another thing she liked: he never made her feel like she’s inconvenienced him, and wanted her to assume that he was as busy - and as likely to ask for a raincheck - as she was.

“Steakhouse? Sounds amazing. I’m in,” Spencer said. “I’m surprised you don’t have a camera around your neck tonight.”

“Well, no one asked me to cover this party.” Toby shrugged and dipped his chin so his mouth was next to Spencer’s ear. “And I hardly ever cover parties anyway. More of awards functions, which are basically the same thing, only with even more bullshit laid on top.” He laughed, which made Spencer laugh, too. He was right anyway.

Spencer mentally examined her schedule. She planned to go home around midnight and write until about three in the morning and then crashing to bed. The twelfth episode of Ocean of You just needed her finishing touches before she could start on the thirteenth. Bryon was still in talks to get the network to buy more episodes, but he had advised her to write at least four episodes in advance.

“Perhaps you can come over tomorrow night,” she said. She needed a break from writing. Thinking about Taylor and Brooke and San Francisco always led her back to thinking of Emily. She didn’t expect the woman to be her greatest inspiration, but shit happens. “We can watch silly movies and not think about work for a whole night.”

“A whole night?” Toby asked teasingly. “You really can keep away from your world of women and romance and San Francisco for so long?”

I need to, Spencer wanted to tell him, I need to keep away from that world, for us. Instead, she said: “Ever heard of ‘taking a break’?”

Toby cocked his head curiously. “Not from your mouth, I haven’t.”

“Okay then,” Spencer said. “Tomorrow night, we’re taking a break.” No Ocean of You. No writing. No revisiting the feelings she felt when she turned around to respond to the question that stranger posed to her while in the coffee line at the Rear Window Brew.

Entertainment Weekly news blog; June 30, 2014
“Ocean of You” receives 10-episode back order from CBS

When CBS premiered Ocean of You at the beginning of the month, they probably didn’t know that it was going to be such a hit.

The dramedy, which is produced by industry legend Byron Montgomery and created by rapidly rising newbie Spencer Hastings, has achieved record ratings for a summer show in its Tuesday 9PM slot.

CBS has announced that it has ordered 10 more episodes for the winter season, but has kept mum on whether they have made a decision to renew the show for a second season.

The girl - no, the woman - was a giggler.

She giggled as Emily pushed her inside her apartment. As the back of her legs bumped the edge of the bed, causing both of them to topple over. As Emily’s resolute fingers undid the buttons of her shirt. As she tilted her head upwards to allow Emily more access to her neck. She giggled. A lot.

Before, Emily didn’t mind what kind of noises - if at all - the women she slept with made. Sex was a thoughtless thing then; as long as she got what she wanted, why would what happened in between matter? But this time it was different.

The woman kept giggling beneath her as hands ran up her sides and a nipple was in Emily’s mouth.

Spencer didn’t giggle. When Emily had done this to her, it elicited the deepest, throatiest moans. From her place on Spencer’s torso, she felt the brunette’s diaphragm vibrating with the force and volume of the sounds. It was one of the sexiest sensations Emily has ever encountered. Nothing compared since.

Emily just wanted to lose herself, like she did in the past, before Spencer came into her life. She was finding it hard to do that. And not just because of the giggling. It wasn’t like she had any other option, though. And so, blocking the noise as much as she could, she pulled the woman’s panties down.

The next morning she staggered out of the woman’s bedroom fully dressed in the rumpled items of clothing she shed. Her companion from last night was staring absently at the coffeemaker. “Morning,” Emily said cautiously.

The woman lifted her eyes, the corners of which crinkled into a smile, to meet Emily’s. “Would you like to stay to have some coffee?”

It was Saturday. She wasn’t expected anywhere. No one was going to look for her. Why the hell not? “Sure.” She walked up to the kitchen counter and received a steaming mug of drip coffee from the blonde. Cream, sugar and two percent milk were slid across to her, and she helped herself.

As a rule, Emily usually didn’t look around her one night stand’s apartments. Apartments were such personal spaces - almost sacred - and she didn’t do personal. But as she stirred cream into her coffee, something caught her eye. A canvas print of a panorama of San Francisco Bay - complete with the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island in view - hung above the couch.

“You like it?” the woman asked. “I got it at a street market in the Village last year.”

“It’s beautiful.” Emily was talking to herself more than she was talking to her companion.

“I love San Francisco,” the woman gushed. “I went to college at Merritt and my friends and I would go into the city to hang around at Castro almost every weekend. Sometimes we even came back early from breaks just to party at Castro. Those were amazing times.”

“Sounds like a great city.”

“It’s actually quite underappreciated. Everyone fusses about LA or New York, but hardly anyone talks about San Francisco. I was so happy when Ocean of You began to air,” the woman was saying. “Finally, someone who knows that San Francisco should be flaunted! Do you watch the show?”

Emily’s insides somersaulted at the sound of someone mentioning that show. Spencer’s show. “Y-yeah,” she stammered. “Of course I watch it. It’s pretty great, huh?”

The blonde grinned. “I’ve never fallen in love with a TV show so quickly before.”

“I know what you mean.” Emily had never fallen in love with a woman so quickly before. A woman who told stories that make people feel as if they were falling, too.

Aware that she looked distracted, she smiled at the blonde woman across the kitchen counter. It dawned on Emily that sometime during the events of last night, she forgot her name.

Just Jared; July 13, 2014

Bachelor no more? SPOTTED: Photographer Toby Cavanaugh and writer Spencer Hastings

Shutterbug to the stars Toby Cavanaugh was seen walking on Sunset Boulevard hand in hand with TV writer Spencer Hastings last night.

The two appeared to have emerged from Boulevard3, where a launch party for singer Noel Kahn’s - reportedly a friend to both Toby and Spencer - was being held.

As one of the few of Hollywood’s hunky bachelors who prefers being behind the camera, it makes sense for Toby to pause his bachelorhood by dating someone who works behind the scenes, too!

Several attendees of the same party told Just Jared that even if they arrived separately, the two were “awfully cozy” throughout the night. And judging from the photo we got from our witness, they left together.

Neither Toby nor Spencer could be reached for comment. We are honestly not surprised. We know how elusive their types can be!

“Oh my god.” Spencer swore that she could literally feel her brain buzzing in excitement. “You’re not serious?” She let out an exhilarated laugh. She couldn’t really think right now. “Please be serious.”

“Dead serious, Spencer,” the voice on the other end said.

“We should do something,” she suggested hastily.

“Already got it sorted. I got my secretary calling places. I’ll email you with the details once that’s sorted?”

“Sure, yeah, that sounds awesome.” Spencer was talking so fast she began to sound incoherent, even to herself. She breathed deeply. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how thrilled I am.” A new door had been opened for her. A set of French double doors, if her imagination had to be specific.

“Oh, I think I have a good idea,” the other person said amusedly. “Good night, Spencer.”

“Good night, Byron.” Spencer hung up. Her phone shook precariously in her hand so she steadied her grip. She practically leapt from her seat and began to pace. She needed to tell someone. She scrolled through her phone and pressed the name she couldn’t get off her mind.

One ring. Two rings. Three, four, five, six, seven rings. Then just when she was about to hang up, a click. “Hello? Spencer? Is everything okay?”

She actually picked up! Spencer stifled a gasp. “Emily! Everything’s okay, everything’s fine,” she said. “Oh god, it’s good to hear your voice.”

Emily’s voice shifted from concerned to sharp. “What’s going on?”

This threw Spencer off guard. “Oh, you know,” she said. “Just seeing how you are.”

“I’m good, thanks,” Emily snapped. “Not much has changed.”

“I,” Spencer hesitated, “I somehow don’t think that’s true.”

The woman’s anger was barely contained this time around. “And you would know this because you caused it, Spencer,” she said. “Of course everything’s changed. Did you really expect things to remain the same?”

“How’s the business going?” A change of subject was a stupid thing to do, but she only just realised that now. Spencer mentally kicked herself. This was going so great.

“Why are you calling me?” Emily demanded, seeing right through Spencer’s bullshit.

“I have news that I wanted to share,” Spencer said slowly, “Ocean of You is being renewed for a second season. The press release is coming out from CBS tomorrow.”

“That’s great, Spencer.” There was a hint of softness in Emily’s voice this time, and Spencer knew she meant it. But then her tone went cold again. “I’m happy for you. You deserve the second season.”

“I just want you to know that you were my greatest inspiration.” Spencer wanted to add, “and you still are”, but Emily seemed to be nearing the end of her tether, trying to be patient.

“Glad to know.”

“Thank you, Emily.”

“You know, I was really happy when I saw the news about you getting a back order,” Emily said. “I can’t wait for the show to come back in January. It’s very good work, Spence. You should be proud.”

Spencer smiled, despite herself. The second half of the season was written as a love letter to Emily. But that is something she’d never say out loud. “Well, I better go now,” she said. “I’m sure I was being an interruption.”

“That’s cool,” Emily said. “Spencer?” Her voice was different this time.

“Yeah?” 

“I hope that you and Toby are happy.”

Spencer couldn’t bring herself to say that every day, she wished it wasn’t Toby she was happy with. Sighing, she closed the conversation, “Good night, Emily.”

“Good night, Spencer."

The Hollywood Reporter; October 6-12, 2014 [Excerpt]
Spencer Hastings: TV’s newest rising star

THR: Did you imagine that Ocean of You was going to get this kind of success?

SH: Definitely not. CBS took a chance with me by airing the show and I’m glad they did. Otherwise we wouldn’t have known that the story of Taylor and Brooke would resonate with so many people.

THR: It sure did. Let me ask you something: why San Francisco?

SH: It’s a city I’ve always loved. I lived there for a year, in between graduating from college and deciding to want to be a screenwriter. Around that time, Silicon Valley was all the rage. Well, you know, it still is, but this was when computers started getting smaller and software started getting faster. The Bay Area became a mixture of the old - the heritage and the creative history of San Francisco - and the new. Taylor and Brooke from the show exemplify those two main ingredients that make the Bay Area what it is today. A journalist - a writer - and someone who works in tech. This element of San Francisco is something that’s often overlooked when it comes to looking for rich settings to set the story in. People think LA, New York, Miami, some small town in the Northeast. I wanted to break the mold. And I made sure that San Francisco kind of spoke for itself in the script.

THR: It did just that, trust me. So what’s in store for the audience for the rest of the season?

SH: Exciting stuff - hopefully? We didn’t end the first half on a cliffhanger, yet we made sure that there is still more room for the characters and their relationships to grow. And that’s something that will be explored in January. So… stay tuned. Pretty please!

Hanna’s marching into the living room roused Emily. She had fallen asleep at her desk. Her computer was still running and there were beer cans and crumpled pieces of paper surrounding it. The stench of stale alcohol wafted up to her nostrils. Whatever she was doing before she fell asleep was clearly unsavoury. “Why are you so loud?” she asked groggily. “What time is it?”

“It’s eleven thirty in the morning. You’re supposed to be on site and you were supposed to be finishing up invoices last night.” Hanna had her hands on her hips, and her lips were an irate slash. Emily found that dangerous. It was rare that Hanna displayed irritation.

“Shit. I’ll shower and head straight there.”

“I already called the head builder, told them you weren’t feeling so good today so you’ll be there tomorrow,” Hanna said. “And I can see those invoices aren’t done, so you can finish those after your shower.” Nose turned up, she had an air of authority, which Emily had seen before, but not directed at her.

“Okay,” she relented. She got up, stretched and made for the bathroom.

“Hang on,” Hanna said sharply. “We’re not done here yet.”

Turning around, Emily blew out a heavy breath. “What is it, Han?”

“Can you just get your shit together?” Hanna demanded. “It’s been months since Spencer screwed you over, and you’re drinking a lot and having one night stands again and it used to be fine before Spencer, but now it’s affecting your work, your business. Our business. This isn’t the first time you’ve slacked on invoices since you found out she had a boyfriend.”

Emily found herself slack-jawed. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you’re heartbroken. And I get that, I really do,” Hanna said. “But seriously, if you’re going to be like this forever, I can always put a freelance project manager on contract until you sort yourself out.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It should be.”

“I don’t have time for this, Hanna.” Emily started towards the bathroom again.

“This is your career, Emily. It’s something that you love. You used to have time for it. Until the person you thought understood your passion the most hurt you.” Hanna’s voice was lower this time, gentler. “I wish you didn’t do that, Em. Don’t tie your love for what you do to what Spencer did to you.”

Emily said nothing. She walked over to the bathroom instead, not letting anything stop her this time around. She couldn’t help smirking in satisfaction when she pushed the bathroom door shut, so that Hanna’s face would be out of sight.

After a long, hot shower, she returned to her desk to find it clean, and the computer turned off. There were a stack of folders by her keyboard. Emily recognised them immediately. Applications to get an appointment for a meeting and a quote for a renovation job. The Post-it on the top folder had Hanna’s loopy writing on it: I know staring at a spreadsheet all night isn’t fun. You should look at these first. Tell me what you think. She wanted Emily to prioritise the appointments by assessing the information about the places that needed renovating.

It took thirty minutes for her to finish going through the stack. There was already a potential project that she knew she wanted to work on. While she waited for Hanna to return, she finished those invoices with newfound motivation.

 #00207

Client Name: Lilly BakerPhone No.: [xxx-xxxx]Email: [[email protected]]

Home address: [-----], Potrero Hill, San Francisco

Type of building: Residential, self-detached  Age: 20-25 years old

Address: [----], Noe Valley, San Francisco