LITTLE ROCK — TV shows on the Internet aren't a new phenomenon. Amateurs have been making their own programs and posting them online for several years. And current prime-time shows are regularly available for viewing online.
But now big media conglomerates are getting into the act with the launch of whole networks, like the revived TheWB.com. And heritage networks are creating original online content, including webisodes from The Office and all-new series, including NBC.com's (www.nbc.com) Gemini Division.
Gemini is a 50-part series and each episode lasts about three minutes. The series stars Rosario Dawson (Eagle Eye) as New York undercover detective Anna Diaz, who vacations in Paris with boyfriend Nick Korda (Justin Hartley, Smallville). Production values are fairly low - but not amateurish - with much of the series looking like it was shot in front of a green screen. Diaz's constant direct address brings to mind lonelygirl15 or last year's Web-series-turned-failed-TVshow, quarterlife.
Now an entire moribund broadcast network brand has been revived online with the Aug. 27 relaunch of TheWB.com.
Once a popular and buzzworthy network, The WB ceased to exist when The CW was created from the remnants of The WB and UPN.
The revived site will boast a full roster of Warner Bros. library programming, as well as shows that may have appeared on networks other than The WB but fit its hip, youth-skewing brand (e.g. Friends, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The O.C.).
"We had this brand, we know this audience very well, and the brand still resonates with young adults," says Brent Poer, general manager of TheWB.com. "Instead of going out and creating a new brand, we can bring back something people still love and enjoy."
The site has also licensed some shows from studios other than Warner Bros., including the Fox properties Angel and Firefly, both executive-produced by Buffy creator Joss Whedon.
"Angel and Buffy were part of the lineup of The WB," Poer said. "If we didn't bring those two to what we're doing, we would have had people outside with burning torches. ... It's about creating a robust lineup. This isn't just 'roll out the library,' this is about creating a complete schedule that has a lot of great content."
Poer wouldn't discuss the terms of financial arrangements with Fox or its own business plan for TheWB.com.
"It's a very different model from television. However, we have very successful Hollywood producers - Josh Schwartz (Chuck), Gary Auerbach (LagunaBeach) - who understand this is the wave of the future and that we really need to look at how we do short-form storytelling at a very different [cost]."
TheWB.com promises original programming - scripted and unscripted - through the use of foreign imports and new domestically produced shows. Unlike Gemini Division, some of TheWB.com shows look like traditional series shot on location.
"They look like broadcast television," Poer said. "This is not YouTube quality. This is content that's coming from a studio, and as Warner Bros., we have to maintain a level of quality that viewers expect from us. This isn't about skimping and making cheap content.
"It's TV online," Poer said. "That's pretty much it."
Library programs will carry advertising in what's becoming the industry standard: 30-second spots at the start of the program and in the middle. Original programs will have co-branded opening ads and ads at the show's conclusion with the opportunity for product placement within the show itself.
New series on TheWB.com include:
Blue Water High: An Australian import about students at a surfing academy, each episode runs 22 minutes. TheWB.com will premiere 18 episodes from the first season with plans to pick up second-season episodes later.
A Boy Wearing Makeup: Poer said executives discovered 20-year-old Mathieu Francis of Alabama when he posted videos of himself giving makeup tutorials on YouTube. Francis is creating original five-minute episodes. "It's incredibly viral," Poer said. "You look at it, say, 'I learned something,' and then you send it to your friends and say, 'You won't believe this.'"
Whatever Hollywood: A mix of music videos and reality show about three young women in Los Angeles who aspire to make it big in Hollywood. Episodes run up to four minutes each.
And due on Monday: Sorority Forever: A mystery/drama set in a sorority house, the show was filmed in Spokane, Wash., and executive-produced by McG. Each of the 40 episodes runs 13 minutes with new episodes premiering daily for eight weeks.
Style, Pages 35 on 09/04/2008