For actors, directors and writers, Web series also mean artistic and creative freedom. (Indeed, actress Illeana Douglas calls Web series the “new independent film.”) The Web channel StrikeTV, for instance, born out of last year’s Hollywood writers’ strike, showcases a host of new Web projects developed outside the studio system. Even actors and writers working within the studio’s digital outlets talk of the relative freedoms compared with TV.
Webisodes are a new format. There are no established rules for studio execs to follow. Webisodes have no common traits other than brevity (usually they last no longer than a couple of minutes). The initial thinking about what a webisode should look like — the creators of LonelyGirl15 believed the camerawork should be simple, with a character always filming the action, and each episode no longer than three minutes — hasn’t been borne out.
Scoring a Web series hit, however, is still no cinch. Even shows whose view count passes 100,000 in the first week (a fair index of success) can find it hard to sustain. Studios can at least afford to hedge their bets with lots of shows. The best financial hope for independent producers is still corporate sponsorship or being optioned for television. Which isn’t to say Web series cannot be financially viable and be more than a “laboratory for network” (as one exec put it). The recent Web series from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a musical superhero spoof penned during the writers’ strike and bankrolled by Whedon, premiered online free in July before going on sale on iTunes and grossing more than US$2 million in the first few weeks.
No doubt as viewing habits evolve, this won’t prove such a singular exception for Web series. It won’t be long, for instance, before all TV sets can readily access the Internet and viewers can watch webisodes as they would regular television. How long then before Web series rival TV in ratings and quality? And how long before we get our first Sopranos, Lost or Friends of the Web?
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