BEEN HERE is a time-capsule of T-Dot’s golden era. Think of the late 90s when Baby Phat, Roc-a-Wear, Apple Bottoms and Fubu were undeniable wardrobe essentials, where rappers and R&B artists would team up and offer fans infectious singles to belt out during top ten countdown television programs and when Richmond Street West was a bustling hub of the city’s Nightlife.

However, the Screwface Capital’s music scene became the playground for a certain kind of woman. You may not have known her, but you’ve definitely seen her (and if you haven’t, she’d make sure of it). Maybe it was the way her glossed lips puckered around her lollipop, or the way her hips mimicked a metronome rocking to the beat of your favourite track. She’s the kind of woman who brimmed with grit, attitude and drive, but whose unforgettably mesmerizing ambiance, beauty and softness contoured her rough edges and propelled her to audiences across the world. The video vixen of the 90s and 00s were made up of women who were truly cut from a different (designer) cloth, and though their stories are ones of an era long gone, the impression left on the genre, culture and people after them will always remain.

In the words of television writer/producer Angelique Knights, BEEN HERE is an absurdist dark comedy that is "a love letter to the vixens that never properly got their flowers.” Metabolizing her experiences and observations working across various sectors within Toronto's entertainment industry—from Flow 93.5, to MuchMusic, and more—Knights is arguably creating one of the most exciting series to touch Canadian screens.

Following five women trying to make it in the industry during the late 90s, and during the height of music television, Angel Rae—a quirky, type A receptionist at a local Toronto hip-hop radio station—discovers the world of music video modelling. While she ends up joining a crew of misfit video vixens—she discovers the industry isn’t all it is presented to be.

While Toronto may not be the first place that comes to mind when people think of ultra-famous 90s video vixens, Knights says the Canadian video vixens came first. “When I started to research the history and speak to models of the time, I realized that the vixens between 1996 and 2008—pre-recession, think Melyssa Ford—are the models and vixens that reached the height of popularity and to me are cultural icons,” she shares. “Before the recession, there was an influx of budget in the Canadian music industry. Music videos were being made [with] million dollar [budgets]. That means the talent starring in the videos were getting like 10-15 grand a day. They were being flown out, they were celebrities, they were doing radio interviews, they were doing club appearances, they had fashion brand endorsements. A lot of girls who are growing up being like, ‘Hey, I want to do that,’ and they might be willing to do things for less money, and the industry ha[d] less money to pay them.”

With the support of the Independent Production Fund and CMF, Knights created a “moment,” titled ‘Lips & Legs,’ to serve as a proof of concept for what’s to come in the world of BEEN HERE. “‘Lips & Legs’ is a comment on fragmentation. When I was watching music videos from the 90s / 00s I noticed that the models were broken apart into their best bits,” she says. “There was a legs girl where we’d watch her walk in slow motion and then you’d see a lips girl where she’d only be showcased in a tight frame and her lips would be pouting and puckering for the camera. That’s where lips and legs came from — it’s a moment not a trailer. And I am giving the audience a glimpse behind the scenes at my two characters, Angel Rae and Cola, as they are practicing their superpowers for when they land that big principal role!”

To bring ‘Lips & Legs’ to life Knights formed a crew of heavy hitters whose tenure in their respective fields added much-needed gravitas in ensuring even the smallest details were considered. After meeting Imad Elsheikh, the founder of production company PIQUE, during their time as participants in the Canadian Academy’s inaugural Executive Residency Program, Knights knew PIQUE—credited for producing high-gloss top tier branded content and music videos for some of the world’s biggest brands and artists—would be the right home for her series, alongside Project 10 development executive, Shonna Foster.

Knights also tapped the internationally-acclaimed Sammy Rawal as director, Shady Hanna as their cinematographer and cast emerging Canadian superstar Kat Khan as Angel Rae, alongside Gabrielle Graham, from Lena Waith’s ‘Twenties’ and the upcoming Colman Domingo Netflix series ‘The Madness’ to play Cola. Lisa Benedetto, longtime EP of ‘Working Moms’, was brought on as a consultant along with Lola Gafaar as producer. BULLY’s Editor-in-Chief, Bobby Bowen, was crewed as the moment’s costume designer. Bowen used the most authentic style references he could – vintage family photos of his sister from Caribana in 99.

BEEN HERE is about the underdogs. The camera is always on her, but what happens when it stops rolling? Do we really know what it feels like for her to step out of the trenches and into her triumph? We’ve seen the shows about rappers, the club owners, the exotic dancers and the various players within the world of hip hop, but the women who became the integral part of the culture’s visual economy are seldom featured as the main character beyond their 15 minutes. Knights wants to change that: “The point of view of celebrating the identity of the vixen when she was at her height is the one that we're missing. That's my intent with the show. It's to be female-driven from the female point of view, and from the point of view of the young girl who didn't see her identity anywhere else, she just saw it in music videos.” Check out the exclusive proof of concept and BTS of the trailer, shot by Saem, only on BULLY.