# Strangers
**Strangers** is an American comedy-drama web series created by Mia Lidofsky that ran on [Facebook Watch](https://www.edgepedia.org/facebook-watch) from September 2017 to August 2018. It follows Isobel Song, a woman in Los Angeles who, after a painful breakup, rents out her spare bedroom to a rotating cast of guests while coming to terms with her bisexuality.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) • [2](https://www.epguides.com/Strangers_2017/) The series ran for two seasons and 17 episodes.[2](https://www.epguides.com/Strangers_2017/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Mia Lidofsky, who also wrote and directed episodes[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) • [3](https://www.emmaleemoss.com/blog/2017/10/20/strangers-season-1-is-available-to-stream) |
| Platform | Facebook Watch, 2017 to 2018; status ended[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) |
| Run | Season 1 premiered September 4, 2017; series finale August 26, 2018; 17 episodes in 2 seasons[2](https://www.epguides.com/Strangers_2017/) |
| Lead cast | Zoë Chao as Isobel Song; Meredith Hagner as Cam[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) |
| Genres | Comedy, drama, romance[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) |
| Episode length | About 15 minutes in season 1, expanded to a half hour in season 2[4](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness) |
| Recognition | 2019 Webby Award nomination, Video, Best Individual Performance[5](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/1000772232/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Isobel decides to rent out her spare bedroom to generate much-needed extra income after a messy and painful breakup. With the help of her best friend, she navigates what the show's guides describe as the most emotionally, sexually, and professionally complicated time of her life, while hosting a constant stream of new guests.[6](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/episodes-season-1/1000772232/) TVmaze's summary frames the series as "a coming-out-of-age story about finding yourself. Whoever that is."[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers)
Lidofsky said the idea of Isobel being bisexual was central to the project. She described wanting to create an honest, grounded depiction of a woman on the spectrum of sexual fluidity, against a tradition of depicting bisexuality as a phase or as hyper-sexualized.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/creator-facebook-watch-series-strangers-got-project-screen-526/)
### Seasons
**Season 1 (2017)** consisted of seven episodes airing weekly from September 4 to October 9, 2017, beginning with "Honeymooners" and "Tinder Hearts" and ending with "Homeless".[6](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/episodes-season-1/1000772232/) • [2](https://www.epguides.com/Strangers_2017/) Isobel is newly single in Los Angeles, subsiding her rent as a host on a homeshare app, and each week's renter, played by a special guest star, helps her along as she explores her sexuality and a new love.[3](https://www.emmaleemoss.com/blog/2017/10/20/strangers-season-1-is-available-to-stream) Guest tenants were played by actors including [Jemaine Clement](https://www.edgepedia.org/jemaine-clement), Jemima Kirke, and [Shiri Appleby](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiri-appleby).[8](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/) Isobel's burgeoning relationship with Hailey ([Isabelle McNally](https://www.edgepedia.org/isabelle-mcnally)) opens her to new emotional territory.[8](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/)
**Season 2 (2018)** premiered June 24, 2018, with ten episodes ending August 26, 2018.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/creator-facebook-watch-series-strangers-got-project-screen-526/) • [11](https://nezaman.be/dizi_detay/37358/strangers) The show made two major shifts: episodes expanded from 15 minutes to a half hour, and the setting moved from Los Angeles to New York City, where Isobel's role changes from host to renter.[4](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness) • [9](https://www.romper.com/p/how-can-you-watch-strangers-the-web-series-returns-with-full-length-episodes-9795296) In the season opener, "The Big (Gr)apple", Isobel and Cam have moved to New York together but quickly find their experiences could not be more different.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/1000772232/) The finale, "The Impossibility of Forever?", asks whether Isobel can have love, career, and a home of her own all at once.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers)
### Cast and characters
- **Zoë Chao** as Isobel Song, the lead. Lidofsky, who had known Chao for 28 years, said "Zoe was always Isobel" and that the original intention was to create a platform for the two of them to make something together.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) • [7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/creator-facebook-watch-series-strangers-got-project-screen-526/)
- **Meredith Hagner** as Cam, Isobel's best friend. Lidofsky described Cam as a fictionalized, broad caricature of herself in her mid-20s, confident in herself and her sexuality, playing a mirror for Isobel as she comes out.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers) • [7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/creator-facebook-watch-series-strangers-got-project-screen-526/)
- **X Mayo** as Robbie.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/1000772232/)
- **Isabelle McNally** as Hailey, Isobel's love interest in season 1.[8](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/)
Lidofsky co-wrote every episode with collaborators including Chad Hartigan, Zoe Chao, and Jim Strouse, and co-directed several first-season episodes with filmmaker Celia Rowlson-Hall.[8](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/)
## Production and origins
**From Kickstarter to Sundance.** The show began as a [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) campaign and grew from there.[3](https://www.emmaleemoss.com/blog/2017/10/20/strangers-season-1-is-available-to-stream) Lidofsky conceived the idea while working as a producer and development executive at Beachside Films, after two years working for director Jesse Peretz on *Girls*.[4](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness) In 2015 she was selected for the [AFI Conservatory](https://www.edgepedia.org/afi-conservatory)'s Directing Workshop for Women, where she created the series pilot.[8](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/)
The premise drew on Lidofsky's own experience with home-sharing: returning to New York after months away, she found her own apartment booked out on Airbnb and rented a loft in Williamsburg, only to learn from the host that his girlfriend was living in Lidofsky's own [West Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-village) apartment. She described this early moment of the sharing economy as the first percolation of the idea.[4](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness)
After premiering the pilot at the AFI Showcase, Lidofsky found a home with Refinery29, which agreed to fund the rest of season 1. The series premiered its fully produced first season at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in January 2017, was the U.S. Centerpiece at Outfest that summer, and was acquired by Facebook later that spring.[4](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness) • [9](https://www.romper.com/p/how-can-you-watch-strangers-the-web-series-returns-with-full-length-episodes-9795296) It was produced by Beachside Productions, Refinery29, and Air Mia Pictures.[10](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/webseries/strangers.html)
## Reception
Lidofsky's own site records that Vice called *Strangers* "the best queer comedy on TV right now" and that Vulture hailed it as "a big hearted drama".[12](https://mialidofsky.squarespace.com/about-ba) In 2019 the series received a Webby Award nomination in the Video category for Best Individual Performance.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/1000772232/) Composer Emma-Lee Moss, who wrote score music for episode 2 with Luke Rathborne and songs for [Jemima Kirke](https://www.edgepedia.org/jemima-kirke)'s character Emmy in the season 1 finale, described the series as daring and original.[3](https://www.emmaleemoss.com/blog/2017/10/20/strangers-season-1-is-available-to-stream)
## References
1. [Strangers | TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/32986/strangers)
2. [Strangers (2017) (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides.com](https://www.epguides.com/Strangers_2017/)
3. [Strangers Season 1 is Available to Stream, Emma-Lee Moss](https://www.emmaleemoss.com/blog/2017/10/20/strangers-season-1-is-available-to-stream)
4. [With 'Strangers,' Mia Lidofsky Searches For Home Through Queerness, Out.com](https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/7/24/strangers-mia-lidofsky-searches-home-through-queerness)
5. [Strangers - Where to Watch and Stream, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/1000772232/)
6. [Strangers Season 1 Episodes, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/strangers/episodes-season-1/1000772232/)
7. [How the Creator of the Facebook Watch Series 'Strangers' Got Her Project to the Screen, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/creator-facebook-watch-series-strangers-got-project-screen-526/)
8. [Strangers On This Road We Are On: Mia Lidofsky On Her Facebook Watch Series, Filmmaker Magazine](https://filmmakermagazine.com/103555-strangers-on-this-road-we-are-on-mia-lidofsky-on-her-facebook-watch-series/)
9. [How Can You Watch 'Strangers'? The Web Series Returns With Full Length Episodes, Romper](https://www.romper.com/p/how-can-you-watch-strangers-the-web-series-returns-with-full-length-episodes-9795296)
10. [Strangers (Web Series) - Cast, Ages, Trivia, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/webseries/strangers.html)
11. [Strangers Yeni Bölüm Ne Zaman?, NeZaman.be](https://nezaman.be/dizi_detay/37358/strangers)
12. [About, Mia Lidofsky](https://mialidofsky.squarespace.com/about-ba)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › LGBT-related web series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license