The Queer Web series, Back to Goode is the story of two lesbian couples putting down roots in the rural town of Goode.
Ellie and Vanessa (Suzanne McKee and Jeni Bezuidenhout) are back for a fresh start in their bumpy relationship. Alex and Zoey (Cat Kasey and Georgina Jones) are back by circumstance after being forced out of their Melbourne apartment.
Goode was the set of a music festival that both couples attended long ago, a memory that echoes in all of them as a time when they were young and in love. Now they’re back for good, but trying to relive idyllic moments can bring a rude shock when reality kicks in.
We sat down with Cat Kasey and Georgina Jones, two of the stars of Australia’s newest queer web series:
How would you describe each of your characters?
Georgina: You go first.
Cat: So my character is Alex and her personality is like the strong silent type, so she doesn’t say very much, but whenever she does speak she always puts a lot of thought into it. She has a few secrets that she’s keeping in her back pocket, so I’m really excited to share them with everyone when we start filming the season and once it all gets out there. And she is super, super in love with Zoey, but she doesn’t want Zoey to know.
Georgina: I feel like that’s a bit edgy.
Cat: She’s always, like, tryna play it cool.
Georgina: I think Zoey is more of the feminine role and she’s quiet, but at the same time feisty and fierce. Yeah, how would you describe Zoey?
Cat: I love Zoey’s character so much. Like, Zoey and Alex work very well together in the sense that they both really want each other but don’t want the other to know, ‘cause they’re too cool for that.
Georgina: It’s actually really great because, Zoey’s character, I can identify with myself, like the similar insecurities that I’ve gone through and little cheeky traits here and there (Cat laughs.)
What is it that attracts them as a couple?
Georgina: It’s like, the mysterious kind of edgy… intriguing… (both laugh.) Yeah, Alex is very much like you get the sense that there’s a journey to go on but it’s a silent journey.
Cat: They’ve been together for six years, so it’s really cool to see that their relationship is always evolving, I think Alex is drawn to Zoey in the sense that, like, Alex is quite grounded and then Zoey is this fun character that just brings life into her chill life. And one of my favourite scenes, I’m not allowed to give away too much, but there is a brownie involved and I am so happy with that scene, ‘cause it’s like “Yes that’s everything Alex needs when she’s having a dull day,” and then she gets this brownie brought to her. That’s what they are together- knowing that one of them is not having a good day so imma butter you up.
Do Alex and Zoey have any cute couple quirks?
Cat: Alex’s thing is the hair behind the ear. ‘Cause we have been together for so long, we wanted to make sure that we weren’t over romanticising ourselves in the sense that we don’t want to look like the new puppy love couple with the *wags tongue* all the time (Georgina laughs.) So it’s little nuances like that- the brushing the hair behind the ear, the gentle touch of the arm to show that, hey we love each other, but we’re not in that make out every 5 seconds stage.
Georgina: That side of playing the characters is… ’cause we are so new to each other in reality, so playing that we’re at the opposite end is the most difficult part. Because we’re so excited together to be doing this, it’s a natural expression for us both to just connect. We just clicked art the audition. We’re still discovering what it’s like to be on the… stale end (both laugh,) not stale, but to know each other’s ins and outs and everything.
What kind of messages do Alex and Zoey teach audiences?
Georgina: Yeah, I think this is a really great question because the series itself is progressive in the LGBT scene. All the same kind of things go on [between straight and queer relationships]: the jealousy, all the, “oh I’m gonna get you back,” the games that are played. And I think it’s just from the two different perspectives. You’re [Cat] more of the masculine and I’m more of the feminine, and it’s how I would react to things, and how you would react to things, and how to kind of handle them together and how we get to keep playing a strong relationship.
Cat: It is set in current times, so it is how a 2017 relationship would be, so you’ve got the social media aspect as well, so like everything that, no matter if you’re gay or straight, any kind of couple- this is what it’s like to be in a long term relationship, but the fact that we are a lesbian couple is something that I think the audience will really love.
Georgina: Yeah, and I think, especially, our characters are so relatable as well, whether in you’re in a straight relationship or an LGBT relationship, they’re so relatable. And there are aspects of my character that so many women out there can actually relate to like, “Oh my god, that’s me,” and the same for you [Cat,] and so I think it’s a really great opportunity to show the community the vulnerable side of a lesbian relationship and how not so different it is.