What a summer it’s been at Laughing Hearse. First came our fan film The Mask: Gone Viral—a chaotic homage to the 1994 Jim Carrey classic that had inner cartoon fiends doing back-flips (13K views and counting!).

Then came Madame Dietrich, already making a splash with 4+ screenings, multiple festival selections, and our first award win. Set in Manhattan, it follows a neurotic psychic juggling eccentric clients, family duties, and unexpected turns on her path to self-discovery.

Audiences loved Madame Dietrich, calling it outrageous, fun, warm, and even cozy. It let us go o n an adventure through New York without overthinking, embracing the stress and humor of everyday existence. After the abrupt ending, fans wanted more and so we did something unexpected: we're making our first web series.

What's New Pussycat? 

Our little short film left people laughing, unsettled, and wanting more, so here we are. Madame Dietrich is back, this time as a six-part series that digs even deeper into the messy, funny, and strangely cozy world of a psychic shop in Manhattan and the complicated father-daughter bond at its core. Each episode is 22 minutes long, the same length as our original short, so what you are really getting is six short film sequels all wrapped up into one beautiful webisode package.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: why should I donate if I don’t even know where my money is going? What if the story is not for me? Fair question. So how about this, how about we just spoil it for you. We will tell you exactly what this season of Madame Dietrich is all about. That way, you will know what you are supporting. Sound good? Great. Here is an episode breakdown.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN

Episode 1: Sessions
The season begins with Madame Dietrich in therapy, reluctantly unpacking the weight of caring for her difficult father and the chaos that comes with being a psychic. What starts as a search for answers about stress, ghosts, and the “human condition” quickly reveals deeper cracks in her life. Between clogged toilets, sharp banter, and a therapist who sees more than Dietrich wants to admit, she wrestles with whether her “gift” is real or just a distraction from the truth. By the end, just when she thinks she might finally find some peace, reality bends once again, pulling her right back into the uncanny world she’s trying to escape.

Episode 2: The Customer
Dietrich’s father begins dating one of her shop’s eccentric regulars, whose presence may help the business financially but complicates Dietrich’s life further.

Episode 3: The Crime Scene
Dietrich gets hired for her first official crime scene reading, but the real mystery is whether she should even be on this case.

Episode 4: The Letter
On the anniversary of her mother’s death, Dietrich and her father find an old letter in the apartment that stirs buried memories and forces them to reflect on the past.

Episode 5: What Could Have Been
After bumping into an old friend from the neighborhood who has become very successful, Dietrich questions her decision to abandon college and become a psychic to care for her father.

Episode 6: Just One Time
After celebrating her birthday, Dietrich has a one-night stand that shockingly turns out to be with the son of a familiar face. The fallout pushes her and her father toward a reckoning that changes their family dynamic forever.

Mystical Perks!!

✨ $20 – Lucky Soul

• Your name in the "thank you" credits/Instagram story shout-out

• Exclusive backer updates

🔮 $100 – Fortune Teller Screener

• Early screener of Episodes 1 & 2 (before YouTube release)

🔮✨ $250 – Crystal Ball’s Luck

• Sticker pack

• Mini poster

• Digital screener

🎥 $500 – Associate Producer Credit

• IMDb credit as Associate Producer

• Signed poster

• All previous rewards

🏄‍♂️🌙 $1,000 – Executive Producer

• Opening credits thank-you

• Full merch bundle

• Set visit (or livestream)

• VIP access to premiere screening

⭐🎭 $6,000 – Cameo Appearance

• On-screen cameo role in the series

• Plus all previous rewards

Madame Dietrich Web Series Budget Breakdown

Funding Goal: $6,000 minimum
(6 episodes, approximately 22 minutes each — 132 minutes total)

This is a lean budget. Every dollar is stretched to ensure the series is completed with care and respect for our cast, crew, and community.

1. Cast & Crew – $2,000 (33%)

Modest stipends for lead actors and key crew
Covers rehearsal time, table reads, and shooting days
Ensures the talent is compensated for their time and commitment

2. Locations & Production Design – $1,000 (17%)

Securing the psychic shop, apartment, and crime-scene settings
Dressing sets with mysticism, oddities, and props to create atmosphere
Permits and small location fees

3. Equipment & Technical Needs – $800 (13%)

Camera rentals, lighting kits, and sound gear supplements
Backup drives and media cards for safe storage
Ensures the series maintains a professional look and sound

4. Costumes, Makeup & Props – $500 (8%)

Signature look for Madame Dietrich and recurring characters
Practical effects, small prosthetics, psychic shop tools, and occult elements

5. Post-Production – $1,200 (20%)

Editing, sound mixing, and color correction
Music licensing or partial original score
Closed captioning for accessibility

6. Marketing, Festivals & Deliverables – $500 (9%)

Posters, postcards, and digital advertising
Festival submission fees
Crowdfundr reward fulfillment, including printing and shipping

Stretch Goals

If we exceed our minimum $6,000 goal, here’s how additional funds will make Madame Dietrich even stronger:

$8,000 Enhanced Production Quality
With your support, we can fairly increase stipends for our cast and crew, the people who bring Madame Dietrich to life. This level also allows us to invest in richer set dressing for the psychic shop, upgrade props and costumes, and add those extra touches of makeup and design that make the world feel immersive and alive.

$10,000 Music & Expanded Festival Run
Reaching this goal lets us bring the soundscape of the series to a whole new level. We will commission original score elements, secure rights to unique tracks, and create professional-grade trailers and posters. It also funds submissions to more festivals, both national and international, helping Madame Dietrich reach a wider audience and community of fans.

$12,000 Audience Engagement Extras
At this milestone, we can open the doors and invite you even deeper into the process. You will gain access to an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, livestream Q&As, and cast commentary. We will also host an elevated premiere event, complete with red carpet photos and opportunities for fans to connect with the team.

$15,000+ Future-Proofing the Series
This level ensures Madame Dietrich is completed with a cinematic polish: a full original score, top-tier sound mixing and color grading, and expanded marketing to reach new audiences. Most importantly, it lays the groundwork for what comes next, whether that is a Season 2 or a spin-off chapter. Your contribution helps secure the future of Madame Dietrich’s world.

Maybe you’re wondering what the big deal is with Madame Dietrich. Maybe you don’t see why audiences connected with it, or why anyone would want a continuation. That’s okay...we welcome the challenge. Here’s what one reviewer had to say about our original short film:

https://letstalkterror.com/review-madame-dietrich-short/

Why Original Stories Like Madame Dietrich Belong as a Web Series

When we first created Madame Dietrich as a short film, it was not about following a trend or chasing someone else’s ideas. It came from something deeply personal, the quiet weight of trying to survive the day while life throws chaos in every direction. It is an original character, an original world, and an original voice. And people connected with it. Viewers saw something of themselves in Dietrich’s struggle to balance family, identity, and the absurd comedy of existence.

That is the power of original storytelling. It creates a world that feels fresh yet familiar, quirky yet human. And that is why we are not stopping at the short film. A web series is the perfect outlet for this story to expand. Six 22-minute episodes give us the room to dive deeper into therapy sessions, crime scene readings, old family wounds, and the eccentric customers who pass through Dietrich’s shop. Instead of compressing everything into one arc, the series lets us explore her world piece by piece, the way life really unfolds.

Think of shows like Only Murders in the Building, Barry, or Resident Alien. Each blends humor with tension, offbeat characters with real emotional stakes. That is the lane Madame Dietrich fits into, a dark comedy with heart, mystery, and an un-apologetically original voice. It may not come from a giant studio, but it carries the same ambition: to make you laugh, reflect, and maybe even cry in the same breath.

What makes Madame Dietrich so vital is that it is not borrowing from anyone else’s blueprint. It is not a copy. It is not derivative. It is a story built from scratch, rooted in themes of survival, humor, family, and the strange poetry of everyday life. In a world crowded with content, originality is what cuts through, and that is what this series delivers.

Backing this project means backing originality. It means supporting independent artists who are carving out new spaces for fresh stories to thrive. The short film was the seed. The web series is where it grows into something even more powerful, with the potential to reach audiences who are hungry for stories they have not already heard a thousand times before.

This is not just a continuation. It is a declaration: original voices matter, and with your help, Madame Dietrich will prove it.

You guys are still reading this right?

...Good!

Confirmed Cast

We are thrilled to confirm that Mariana Saba will be returning in the role of Madame Dietrich. As the beating heart of the original short film, Mariana brought an unforgettable mix of wit, vulnerability, and razor sharp comedic timing to the character. Her performance captured the subtle balance of absurdity and authenticity that defines Dietrich’s world, leaving audiences eager to see more. Trained in both stage and screen performance, Mariana has appeared in indie productions such as Nihil Sub Sole Novum and continues to build a reputation for bold, character driven work. In the series, she steps further into Dietrich’s shoes, navigating therapy sessions, crime scene readings, and the chaos of running her eccentric psychic shop with the same depth and magnetic presence that made her so compelling in the short.

Joining her once again is Andrea Prestigiacomo as Dietrich’s father, a role that provides both the humor and the grounding force of the story. Andrea’s performance brought authenticity and pathos to the family dynamic in the short, embodying the complicated love, frustration, and resilience that make the father daughter relationship so rich. Beyond Madame Dietrich, Andrea has built a strong resume in both television and film, with credits that include Godfather of Harlem, Brooklyn Ties, and Gravesend. He is also a returning collaborator of showrunner Geordy Skolnick, having worked together previously on Brooklyn Ties. Their ongoing creative partnership brings an added layer of trust and depth to the series, ensuring that the father daughter relationship at the heart of Madame Dietrich feels lived in and genuine.

Together, Mariana and Andrea create a dynamic that audiences instantly recognize, flawed, funny, and deeply relatable. Their chemistry was the core of the short film, and expanding it across six episodes will give viewers an even deeper look at the heart of Madame Dietrich: a story about survival, family, and finding humor in the unlikeliest of places.

THE DIRECTOR:

Geordy Skolnick