by Marc Hustvedt on August 26th, 2009
Vampires, they’re so hot right now.
As fall TV season approaches and the networks start the media buying blitzkrieg to promote their new wares, a few networks have turned to web series to stoke the fanbase fires. The CW opted for a prequel to its teenage vampire drama, The Vampire Diaries, with a 4-episode web series A Darker Truth, which leads into the series premiere of the hour-long drama on September 10.
For the production of the A Darker Truth, they tapped Retrofit Films, the same shop that created four of the Heroes spinoff web series for NBC last year. Retrofit’s Tanner Kling and Chris Hanada directed the series. Cast members for the TV series, like stars Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev, are only used via clips and stills, with new web-only actors used for most of the show. Showrunner for the TV series Kevin Williamson (Scream, Dawson’s Creek) did not write the web version, instead staff co-producer Sean Raycraft did the honors.
by Marc Hustvedt on August 11th, 2009
Alloy’s new teen drama web series Private premiered today on Teen.com, kicking off its twenty-episode foray into the web TV waters. With the prequel casting call series completed (Sanna Haynes won the role of Kiran), the scripted boarding school mystery begins. We’ve been following this series since its announcement back in May, and it stands out as one of the only stable business models for web entertainment.
Making the step into web series is a natural move for Alloy Entertainment. This is the studio behind TV’s Gossip Girl and the forthcoming The Vampire Diaries and films like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. For parent company Alloy Media + Marketing, its entertainment arm is just a piece of its play to conquer the young adult market, a market it could be credited with redefining.
“Our lead character Reed (Kelsey Sanders) falls in love with a boy named Thomas (Brant Daugherty) and we have a short window to sell that relationship,” Bank noted. “It’s something we worked on with the writers to make the viewer has an emotional resinant experience in that time frame.”
by Marc Hustvedt on July 22nd, 2009
I’m not sure what it is that hooked me into this whole Private web series casting call, but it’s got me. Maybe it’s the “public” nature of this thing, opening up a series regular role to would-be teen stars all over the country to submit videos for why they should land the role of vicious prep model Kiran Hayes on the series. Or maybe it’s the fact that it’s a reality competition for a web series gig. Either way, it’s intriguing.
Since its announcement back in May, the producers received hundreds of videos from eligible teens before widdling down the crop to a final three (Janine, Nicole and Sanna) who were flown out to LA for a Bravo-style reality competition for the role. For judges, they’ve brought in the show’s writers, Sarah Kucserka and Veronica Becker along with Gossip Girl executive producer Bob Levy.
by Jacob Nahin on May 7th, 2009
Alloy Entertainment, known for its work on The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl, has announced that it will be putting out a web series based on, Private, the popular teen-mystery novels by author Kate Brian.
This is Alloy Entertainment’s second original web series, having recently launched its UTA-backed Haute and Bothered on Teen.com.
The Private web series will be directed by Dennie Gordon who has worked on numerous television show and the movie What a Girl Wants. The series is also being adapted by Sarah Kucserka and Veronica Becker, both of whom have written for Ugly Betty.
by Pat Miller on March 2nd, 2009
Looks like Alloy Media + Marketing is teaming up with LG Mobile and United Talent Agency (UTA) to produce some new original web content for the Teen.com TV, the short-form video network at Teen.com.
You might know Alloy Media as the executive producers of Gossip Girl and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. So far on the teen site, they’ve got an interview with Kristin Kreuk and Chris Klein of the new Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li movie, a Q&A with the Degrassi cast, and a whole bunch of other neat stuff for the millenials. It also looks like behind-the-scenes footage from Gossip Girl and Samurai Girl will be showing up, too.
