Some people cringe when you refer to the web as a development ground (or minor leagues) for TV. And rightly so, the moniker is too limiting for what amounts to a super-fragemented online community of millions of avid surfers. Not every web series is meant for TV. That doesn’t stop network development execs from scouring video sites for the latest tweet-worthy vids.
With tonight’s premiere of Secret Girlfriend on Comedy Central, we have the latest data point to test the development lab theory. What started as a mobile phone series, that was later released as a web series through Atomic Wedgie, was able to catch the eye of development execs enough to order up six half-hour episodes.
The show’s creators, Jay Rondot and Ross Novie, have been at the online content game for a while, finding some success with their series The Rascal for Sony’s Crackle as well as the mobile-turned-web series for Fremantle that would become Secret Girlfriend, the TV series.
The concept of the series takes the same viewer-as-the-first-person perspective as the web series, albeit drawn out into two 11-minute chunks per episode. Sara E. R. Fletcher, who starred in the web series, takes the leading role as the viewer’s “secret girlfriend” Jessica sending frequent video voicemails to you while hanging out with your stuck-up ex-girlfriend Mandy (Alexis Krause) or your web video wannabe roommates Sam (Michael Blaiklock) and Phil (Derek Miller).
