Nothing excites me more than the new and wonderful ways we get/watch/consume great content. I happen to work in traditional TV, but I fantasize about being a pioneer of new media (whatever that means). I love the democratization of it, the wild west feel of it, and then of course the inevitable frustration when trying to figure out how to make money from posting videos on youtube. But then I see people come along who make it work, SO SO WELL, and I’m insanely impressed and inspired. Whether it’s taking a podcast (a form most people write off because “audio will never go viral“) and making it a massive success, or making a web series that doesn’t suck, I love people’s ability to succeed simply because their content is amazing. So here are three series that I admire, love, and of course have a bit of jealousy that I didn’t think of that you will not find on TV. Check them them out, and if you have any other gems to share that are hiding in the corners of the internet, please do!
#1. Serial – A serialized murder mystery podcast from the producers of This American Life that tries to solve a case of a high school murder from 15 years ago. It’s addictive. Everyone is writing about it, and 1.26 million people per episode are listening to it. And honestly the thing that helps me get out of bed the most on Thursday mornings is the fact that I get to listen to a new episode of Serial (for the record, on every other weekday it is the thought about what I am going to eat for lunch that helps me get up)! So if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet…DO IT.
#2. High Maintenance – There are a million reasons I love this show. It’s a show about a drug dealer and the people he delivers to, so ultimately it’s just a show about people. It’s relatable. Hilarious. Unexpectedly moving at times. It feels equally if not better shot or produced than an episode of Girls, yet with a budget nowhere near Girls. The lead of the show, Ben Sinclair, interviewed the crew of A Brony Tale before the film’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere (photo above!). This week the new season of High Maintenance debuted as Vimeo’s first original series. Even Time magazine thinks it deserves its buzz. But don’t listen to me, or Time, watch it for yourself.
[Ps. for the record, the girl in this episode below is recognizable because she is also in Masters of Sex!]
#3. RUNAWAYS – Now for the Grown-Up Party demographic, I suspect you may have heard of #1 and #2 of this list. But I DOUBT you have heard of #3, unless you are a teen. Runaways is a web series on AwesomenessTV, which is a youtube station geared to young adults, that was sold to Dreamworks for 33 million dollars. But where most of the web series for an older generation are comedies (such as one of my all-time favorites Burning Love), this web series satiates that teen guilty pleasure you may be craving. Basically anyone who has watched Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl knows what I’m talkin’ about! Am I right!? Honestly I think a lot of web series could learn a thing or two from Runaways about hooking an audience, and making it impossible not to watch the next episode:
