''Tough Love'' is a

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

that premiered on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on November 8, 2015. The series started as a micro budget project that eventually attracted more than 45,000 unique viewers with over 1 million channel views. ''Tough Love'' received three nominations at the New York Web Fest in 2016. It was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

in 2017 for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series.

Plot

''Tough Love'' follows six millennials in New York City as they navigate dating and life's other challenges.

Cast

Series regulars

Ebony Obsidian Ebony Obsidian is an American actress. She had a supporting role in the 2018 drama film '' If Beale Street Could Talk'' and the following year began starring as Karen Mott in the BET comedy-drama series, '' Sistas''. In 2024, Obsidian played Len ...

as Alicia Davis * Jordan Ryan Barton as Quincy Scott * Natalie Jacobs as Monica Lee * Verina Banks as Jordan Samuels * Bradley Clarke as Jackson Thomas * Devin Coleman as Darius Wilson

Guest

Dorien Wilson Dorien Leon Wilson (born July 5, 1963) is an American actor known for his role as Professor Stanley Oglevee on the UPN sitcom ''The Parkers'' (the spin-off series of ''Moesha''), which ran from 1999 to 2004, his recurring role as Terrence Winning ...

as Dr. Singleton

Reception

''Tough Love'' has over 1 million views on YouTube. ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' named it as one of the "7 Best Black Web Series of 2016", and Maurita Salkey of

Revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

called the series' characters "unforgettable". ''Tough Love'' has been praised by ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'',

Blavity Blavity is an American digital media company and website based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2014, it aims to serve black millennials. History Blavity was founded by CEO Morgan DeBaun, Jonathan Jackson, Jeff Nelson, and Aaron Samuels in 2014; DeB ...

, and BRIC TV.

Awards and nominations

References

{{Reflist 2010s American drama television series 2015 web series debuts American drama web series Internet soap operas