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Following the best episodic shows on the web.

“Hardly Working” is Important Part of CollegeHumor LineupJuly 2 2008

Sites like Break.com and eBaum’s World may have lots of publicity, but few comedy sites have more high quality, original content than CollegeHumor. Started in 1999 by two Baltimore-area high school friends, the site has grown rapidly, with 6 million unique users and 200 million unique page views per month. In between the articles, fake commercials, and viral videos sits the “Hardly Working” series, showing us the strange day-to-day lives of CH employees.

The show, which is released about twice a week (although it follows no definite schedule), is a loosely scripted, barebones production, quite different from the intricately produced sketches and viral videos that CH is best known for. Said Dan Gurewitch, a senior writer for CH, “‘Hardly Workings’ are a different animal… They allow us to indulge our absurdist side, since we’re not necessarily aiming

“Getting Away with Murder” Stands Out on IFC.com’s Summer LineupJune 30 2008

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is best known as the cable broadcaster of uncensored and uninterrupted independent films. Along with their main competitor, the Sundance Channel, they have sought to bring the latest indie productions, as well their own original content, into the mainstream.

As far as web content goes, IFC.com has kept the same approach.  The selection of IFC’s online video, a third of which is dedicated to original web series, is as eclectic as the movies on IFC–from the Australian comedy “Wilfred” featuring a man in a dog costume, to the darker, dramatic “Four Eyed Monsters” about the rocky relationship between two young filmmakers.

For the most part, you’ll find a fair representation of genres in the web series world. There’s “Lunchbox,” your standard video blog highlighting the latest in pop culture trends; R. Kelly’s hip-hopera project “

“Dr. Horrible” To Premiere July 15June 30 2008

A recent post on Whedonesque.com outlines the release of the highly anticipated “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” a new web-exclusive show starring Neil Patrick Harris created by Buffy director Joss Whedon during the writer’s strike.  The show, labeled as “an internet miniseries event,” will attempt to create appointment viewing on the web through scheduled airdates starting July 15, where fans can watch the show’s installments every other day for free until midnight Sunday July 20th, when “they will vanish into the night.”

The plan is to create a highly publicized launch to promote pay downloads and DVD sales of the show:  “We intend to make it available for download soon after it’s published. This would be for a nominal fee, which we’re hoping people will embrace instead of getting all piratey.  We have big dreams, people, and one of them is paying our crew.  And somewhat later, we will put the complete short epic out on DVD –with the finest and bravest extras in all the land.”  Whedon told TV Guide that the DVD extras will include a musical commentary that will be another completely original musical of all commentary songs, which a

HBO Teams Up With Funny or DieJune 27 2008

HBO acquired a small equity stake in Will Ferrell’s 2-year old web video venture and commissioned 10 half-hours of programming, likely teaming on various future projects such as a Funny or Die-branded programming block on and HBO channel, similar to what Comedy Central is doing with newly launched Viacom co-venture Atom.com.  Whether the segments will be stand alone projects or more series based installments remains to be worked out, although Ferrell told Daily Variety that they are considering a “more-traditional-type sitcom” among other ideas.

HBO’s interest in a web brand is another great step towards breaking the wall between web and traditional TV content.  According to Dick Glover, CEO of FunnyOrDie.com, the collaboration will bring together the web portal’s “brand and voice, and access to a lot of new and unusual t

Justine Bateman’s New Sweet ToothJune 27 2008

Justine Bateman, Jeff Garlin, Judd Nelson, and Steve Pink are jumping into the web series arena this year with a new show, “Candy, Inc.,” released by FM78.tv, an internet content production company run by Bateman, Jill Kushner, Peter Murrieta, and Alan Sereboff.

According to Bateman, the show “takes place in a candy factory and it’s about this woman named CJ, played by me. Her family has this candy company, but she’s never wanted to have anything to do with it. She’s reckless the way a 4-year-old is, not really meaning any harm,
and a continuous series of mishaps and misunderstandings have given her a little bit of a police record.” Buck Henry, Wallace Langham, and Suzy Nakamura will also be involved with the project.

FM78.tv’s forward-thinking approach to internet content is a surprise coming from such well established members in the mainstream media.  According to the websit