INDIE HOUSE: Blind Item!, ANACOSTIA, ANYONE BUT ME, Jeff Branson, VARIANTS, OUTS, BROKEN AT LOVE, STARTUP DIARIES, HUNTING SEASON

MAKING HISTORY:  First, a film debut; next up?  Someone will die!

Gossip, secrets, leaks; kudos, picks, congrats - in the Indie Soap Web Series (Indies) world, this is where they live. Listen up: Kevin's Indie House.

UPDATE! Kevin's Indie House has received its first MEGA tip!

For now, this has to be a "blind item," but I will have more info soon.

A reliable source tells me that big news is ahead for one Indie series.  This news could possibly change the face of how you watch scripted drama!  My source says a press release is in the works with all the exciting details!

Now, on with the column...

ANACOSTIA and ANYONE BUT ME made brief-but-beautiful appearances Tuesday evening up on the big screen at Landmark Sunshine Cinema (on the Lower East Side). A choice excerpt of each (about thirty seconds or so long) appears in the soon-to-be-released documentary Soap Life, which mentioned several Indies as a way of illustrating alternatives to network, daytime dramas.

INDIE HOUSE: Get Money from Samsung; THE EX-BOX, DATING RULES FROM MY FUTURE SELF, FREEFALL, HUSBANDS, THE VARIANTS, THE SOURCE

HOT BOX:  "The Hunk" ( Alix van Aernam) returns
to THE EX-BOX

Gossip, secrets, leaks; kudos, picks, congrats - in the Indie Soap Web Series (Indies) world, this is where they live. Listen up: Kevin's Indie House.

Samsung wants to give one lucky Indie $300,000!

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and the NYTVF have launched a landmark partnered initiative providing indie producers and production companies with the opportunity to compete for a guaranteed production budget of $300,000 to create an original short series with accompanying second screen material. The winning selection and subsequent series will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013 and will then be exclusively distributed via Samsung Smart TVs and Galaxy devices.

INDIE SOAP BEAT: Season Finales of THE VARIANTS & OLD DOGS, New RIVER RIDGE, VENICE, DEVANITY, TURKISH SOAP & More!

Here's the latest news and episodes from the world of indie soaps:

* VENICE aired its latest Season 3 episode on Wednesday. Richard is upset that Gina kept the secret of their daughter to herself for so long. Where else can you see Indie Soap Award winner Hillary B. Smith sniffing Tina Sloan? Subscribers can watch VENICE here.

* On the first season finale of OLD DOGS & NEW TRICKS, Brad gets revenge on his latest hook-up (Felipe Encherri), Ross receives some provocative marriage advice, Muscles tries to get Bobby (Thom Bierdz) to discuss their dilemma, and a cryptic session with his shrink (Patrick Bristow) leads Nathan to a mind-blowing encounter. Watch it below:

REVIEW: Visit an adorable comic book store at The Variants

Web Series: THE VARIANTS

For fans of...: COMMUNITY, comic books

What it is: Sweet misfits run a strip-mall comic book shop.

What's good: Characters are watchable and believable. Good episode length. Cute and comfy.

What's great: For the right audience, the unintentional awkwardness and zero-sum narrative arcs will, no doubt, only enrich the comic book realness. THE VARIANTS has a huge fan base.

WATCH: This Week's Indie Soaps

The week of April May 1-7, 2011 was full of new web series episodes from the premiere of THE VARIANTS to Marie Wilson's appearance on WORKSHOP. DEVANITY followed up last week's premiere with a solid second outing, the mystery of RAGGED ISLE continued to grow, and TRAILER MADE returned for another hilarious episode.

Watch all this action and more below, then go vote for your favorite in our weekly web series poll.