There is actually enough to Ikea Heights to warrant a post all on its own. At its core, the show is a clever sendup of daytime soaps. You have the unfaithful wife, a long lost brother, murder, amnesia, and even a hidden treasure. And it’s all played in a very over-the-top way that embraces the soap style, while still mocking it. For those reasons alone, the show is worth a look. You can find the first four episodes at channel101. The fifth episode, and whether or not it will even get made, is where the story gets very interesting.
You see, the entire story takes place inside the Burbank Ikea. Now, Ikea is no stranger to the web series world. They actually funded the Illeana Douglas series, Easy To Assemble. The difference here is that the powers that be at Ikea had no idea Ikea Heights was being made. It was all done on the fly, during regular business hours, as regular shoppers milled about. It makes for some very entertaining reactions from those not involved in the drama.
And now, the secret is out. We got our first glimpse of it at the end of episode three (embedded below). One of the employees walks right into the scene and brings the whole production to a grinding halt. Ikea HQ has since been contacted, and while they don’t dismiss the project, they do add that someone should have asked for permission. There’s a very good writeup on the whole thing over at the L.A. Times website. If you want to follow along and see how it all shakes out, keep on eye on, Heights creator, Dave Seger’s blog.
Personally, I hope Ikea embraces the show, and Seger moves forward with it. The insane premise of the show does nothing to harm the Ikea brand. But, there is some worry about the show losing some virtual street cred if the show goes officially under the wing of the Ikea behemoth. I wouldn’t worry about that. Most people won’t be bothered to investigate, and as long as the writing stays funny, most of the rest just won’t care.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Sep 10, 2009 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
