by Marc Hustvedt on October 22nd, 2009
NBC’s hit comedy The Office has been approaching multi-platform status in the past few years. Even from the start the show was getting terrible numbers until it started releasing over iTunes, which some insiders say is the only thing that saved the comedy from the network axe. Now over four years after the US version debuted, itself a spinoff of Ricky Gervais’ British version, the franchise is now set up all over the world, with French, German, French-Canadian and even Chilean versions all on the air.
It’s partly the internet-heavy US audience for the show mixed with NBC’s bullish digital strategy have led to a slurry of Office web series coming out over the past two years, all with at least a few of the lead actors—The Accountants, Kevin’s Loan, The Outburst and Blackmail. The latest web series, three-episode Subtle Sexuality, will premiere October 29 on NBC.com.
This time it looks to be Kelly (Mindy Kaling) and Erin (Ellie Kemper), the new receptionist, who have formed a girl rock group, dubbed “Subtle Sexulatity,” with Andy (Ed Helms) and Ryan (B.J. Novack) as backup singers.
by Arjun Sharma on January 6th, 2009
NBC is throwing just about everything on the web and seeing what sticks. With the network’s blitz approach towards web spinoffs, we’re left a smattering of short one-joke bits, mixed with a few more complete storyline additions. They have two things in common- first is their medium budget look, by which I mean that they look professionally done, but you can tell that they aren’t the main event. The other is that they are heavy on the ad deals—from Target to Nissan to Sprint. I’m not the biggest fan of the current NBC shows (I’m more into House and Fringe), but these web series are important both for their entertainment value (of which they aren’t lacking) and for their significance as entries in the web series realm by one of the top networks on TV. A roundup of the web stepchildren of The Office, Psych, Chuck, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica.
by Arjun Sharma on July 9th, 2008
The Office is going online again tomorrow, with the debut of another season of webisodes to hold over fans through the summer months. This isn’t the first time that The Office has turned to online content; last year, The Office: The Accountants was a breakout success, garnering both a Webby (Television – People’s Voice) and [...]
