I must confess that at first I was skeptical about a press release I received yesterday from Craigslist TV, a new division of Craigslist, which they describe as “an online documentary series. In March 2010, craigslist provided “opt in” check boxes for craigslist users interested in having their adventures on craigslist chronicled, and sponsored the friendly folks at Brownstone Entertainment to follow up on those stories.” They also have a YouTube Channel.
I don’t now how many they’ve done, but the one they sent me is episode 204, and it follows the exploits of a bartender — Daniel — who listed his services for hire as a “drinking buddy,” offering people that he’d listen to whatever they wanted to tell him for the price of a drink. It sounded pretty goofy to me, but it actually seems to work. Like many good bartenders, he does seem to be a good listener and he has an intuitive grasp of what they need to hear in response. As three out of the four we see tell him — and remember this is L.A. after all — it’s cheaper than therapy and just as effective. So what could have been downright creepy is instead oddly sweet and almost moving. When Daniel talks about his philosophy of doing this, he seems sincere and watching him work, he seems fairly effective. Maybe this will become a recognized profession at some point. After all, who likes to drink alone?