TV or not TV: Canceled show finds new life online

THEY’VE already made TV history as the creators of “thirtysomething” and “My So-Called Life.” That didn’t stop ABC, however, from canceling Marshall Herskovitz (who has also produced a number of movies, most notably “Traffic,” “I am Sam,” “The Last Samurai” and “”Blood Diamond”) and Edward Zwick’s (who directed “The Last Samurai” and “”Blood Diamond,” as well as “Glory,” “Legends of the Fall” and “About Last Night…”) show, then called “1/4 Life,” in 2005 after the pilot.

Well, who’s laughing now?

The two have ditched the old medium and resurrected their baby, now known as “Quarterlife,” as a Web show. In fact, it’s more than just an Internet series, but also a social network — check out their site. Here’s their trailer:

Quarterlife Trailer

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The new series will have its premiere episode on MySpace on November 11, and on November 12 on quarterlife.com.

Here’s an excerpt from the DailyTech article:

Now the show is back at last, and it will shock many that this pair of successful television producers chose not to release their content via television, but have made a switch to the internet.

The pair has signed an exclusive contract with MySpace.com to distribute 36 episodes of the show, beginning November 11. There will be two episodes a week, each a bite-sized 8 minutes long.

So far one hour of material has been shot, or about 6 to 7 episodes

Revenue from ads and product placement will be shared between MySpace and the producers.

The show is not the first to come to MySpace.com. Former Disney head Michael Eisner released a 80-episode, teenage drama series, titled Prom Queen, earlier this year. However, MySpace claims that Herskovitz and Zwick’s show is the first to have television production values.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more content creators will decide to do this. Why give up creative control to broadcast networks who, more often than not, don’t really give a damn about your artistic vision or even have a clue what the audience wants?

I wonder if we’ll also see canceled Philippine TV shows getting a second lease on life online

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