A student has begun producing a new MSUTV series that focuses on mental health.
"Passerby" is the fourth production by MSU convergent media student McKenna Johnson. With four planned episodes to air on MSUTV, "Passerby" will contain messages about mental health and interpersonal relationships and how they affect a person’s quality of life.
“It’s kinda like a culmination of previous aspects from my short films, such as "The Rot"and "Bummerland," those had a heavy influence of mental health,” said Johnson.
The first episode released on February 24.
Johnson wanted to convey that once you hit rock bottom, there is nowhere else to go but up, beginning the first episode “Breathe In” with a darker tone and an intended tonal shift by the second episode that is currently in production.
“Death of a Motel" was focused on interpersonal relationships, and while "Passerby" will not feature a romantic relationship, I want to take elements of importance in that,” said Johnson, a junior.
Katrina Holbrook will portray the character Joy in the first episode.
“With the subject matter you’re covering with this, you have to make sure your actors are in the right headspace, but also still trying to make sure they’re conveying the right message,” said Holbrook, a senior. “You also don’t want to trigger the people that are portraying those emotions, and I feel like she does a really good job of that.”
"Passerby" is set to be released once every two weeks, with the next episode set to air on March 10. Those interested in following the show can find the first episode available on YouTube on the channels MSUTV77 and Johnsography.