Wuz Good’s Rise and Grind (interview)
Wes “Wuz Good” Armstrong is the charismatic director and actor behind the hit Watch miniseries, Couples Night. His show, now in its second season, follows three men dating in the City of Angels, each episode giving a snapshot of a couple’s night gone wrong. The tagline: Dating in Los Angeles always ends in disaster.
It’s been a long road to get this point. After graduating high school, Wes bounced from job to job and couch to couch before attending film school. Finding his creative outlet, he began filming everything he could point his camera at. He even created a spec commercial featuring Grammy Award-winning artist Ne-Yo, which earned him praise as a director with a unique eye, and opened doors to work with artists like Flo Rida and T-Pain. Wes furthered his career working with creators like DeStorm Power and comedy group Dormtainment, and soon established himself as a passionate content creator in his own right.
Two years in, what started as a two-minute sketch video titled Couples Night, is now a full-fledged series on Facebook Watch. Wes shot and edited the show’s original sketches on his iPhone and was pleasantly surprised when it landed over five million views in a matter of days. Since then, he’s upped the production and turned it into a longer series and has swapped the phone for new equipment.
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time, so to be recognized as a creator to spotlight, it’s just dope. It validates what I do.”
Recently, I caught up with Wes and his sketch-writing and acting pals, Adam Waheed and Rome Green Jr., to ask them how Couples Night came to be, their strategies for success, and advice for creating videos that have people coming back for more.
Kodi Vonn: Why did you choose Facebook to launch this series?
Wuz Good: Facebook has great reach and it’s where I have the largest audience. When I found out they were launching this new platform, Facebook Watch, I knew I wanted to be one of the first creators to take advantage of it.
You’re among the first faces people see on the Facebook for Creators website. What does that recognition mean to you?
Wuz Good: At the end of the day, I’m looking to inspire people. I never had a blueprint for what I’m doing, I had to learn on my own. Now that I have a platform, I want to reach other people and help them succeed like I have.
Where did the idea for Couples Night come from?
Wuz Good: A big thing in my life when I was a kid was tattle-taling. I thought I was doing the right thing! So with Couples Night, I wanted to create a scenario where guys end up telling on each other in front of their girls to get themselves out of trouble. And they all throw each other under the bus, and then argue. That was the idea.
What’s the collaboration like offscreen to develop, shoot and edit the show?
Wuz Good: Rome, Paris Lay and I are putting everything together script-wise. My co producer Corday Cardwell and I are working behind-the-scenes to create all assets.
Rome: I had so much gratitude for him wanting me to write. I just love the fact that you came to me, that you trusted my writing, you trust what I do. And from there it was like, all right, let’s get to it!
The original Couples Night went viral in a matter of days. What was it like having that success on a newer platform?
Wuz Good: When I saw that take off, I immediately wondered, ‘If I did another one, would that do well too?’ And it did, it did just as well. And then I did a third video, and I was like, okay, I’ve got something here. That gave us the confidence to continue, and we got to working.
One major difference between the first and second season is that the female cast are sticking around now. Why the change?
Wuz Good: Season 1, on Facebook now, is standalone episodes where we switch the girls out each episode. That was cool but we wanted to take the learnings and make the show even better. I felt like, why should people keep following this if it’s only Adam, Rome, and myself? So I had to take a step back and figure out what’s important to the story and to keep people coming back. I want people to follow the characters and grow with them, and see the decisions they make, whether they’re dumb decisions or smart ones! I want to create full stories that resonate with bigger arcs.
What’s next?
Wuz Good: The goal for me is to direct features and direct television. I want to use this success as a stepping stone to get to bigger leagues. It’s wild because in entertainment right now, the lanes are merging. I have one foot in the door of traditional media with the work I’m doing shadowing different television shows, and my other foot is heavily in social media. There are execs from different companies who want to talk and work with me and pick my brain because this is my field of expertise.
Check out season 5 of Couples Night now on Facebook Watch.
This article originally appeared on Facebook.com/Creators.
