Aweb series, also known asshort form series andweb show,[1][2] is a series of shortscripted ornon-scriptedonline videos released on theInternet (i.e.World Wide Web), generally inepisodic form. A single installment of a web series program can be called awebisode or an episode. The scale of a web series is small and a typical episode can be anywhere from three to fifteen minutes in length.[3][4][5][a] Web series first emerged in the mid-1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s.
Web series are distributed online onvideo sharing websites andapps, such asYouTube,Vimeo andTikTok,[4][3][7][8] and can be watched on devices such assmartphones,tablets,desktops,laptops, andSmart TVs (or television sets connected to the Internet with amedia streaming device). They can also be released onsocial media platforms.[9][10] Because of the nature of the Internet, a web series may beinteractive and immersive.[11][12][13] Web series are classified asnew media.
Web series are different fromstreaming television series, as the latter are purposed to be watched onstreaming platforms such asNetflix,Amazon Prime Video, andHotstar,[14][15][b] with the streaming services offering original productions made for and by them, as well as acquiring the rights to distribute licensed content.[19][20][21] Although the designing of a web series can be similar to that of a television series their development and production does not entail the same financial investment required for a television series.[3][4][c] The popularity of some web series, however, have led to them beingoptioned for television.[4][24][25]
A number of organizations and awards have been established to celebrate excellence in web series, likeWebfest Berlin,[26] theStreamys,Webbys,IAWTV Awards, andIndie Series Awards, although the Streamys and IAWTV also cover programs on streaming platforms. Most major award ceremonies have also created web series and digital media award categories, including theEmmy Awards[27][5][28] and theCanadian Screen Awards.[29] There are also several web seriesfestivals, most notably inLos Angeles andVancouver.[30][31]
In April 1995, "Global Village Idiots", an episode of the reality-based programRox onpublic accesscable television inBloomington, Indiana, was uploaded to the Internet, makingRox the first series distributed via the web.[32] The same year, Scott Zakarin createdThe Spot, anepisodic online story which integrated photos, videos, and blogs into the storyline. Likened toMelrose Place-on-the-Web,The Spot featured a rotating cast of characters playing trendy twenty-somethings who rented rooms in a fabledSanta Monica, California beach house called "The Spot".[33][34]The Spot earned the title of Infoseek's "Cool Site of the Year," an award which later became the Webby.[35][36]
In January 1999,Showtime licensed the animated sci-fi web seriesWhirlGirl, making it the first independently produced web series licensed by a national television network. In February 1999, the series premiered simultaneously on Showtime and online.[37] The character occasionally appeared on Showtime, for example hosting a "Lethal Ladies" programming block, but spent most of her time online, appearing in 100 webisodes.[38]
As broadband bandwidth began to increase in speed and availability, delivering high-quality video over the Internet became a reality. In the early 2000s, the Japaneseanime industry began broadcastingoriginal net animation (ONA), a type oforiginal video animation (OVA) series, on the Internet.[39] Early examples of ONA series includeInfinite Ryvius: Illusion (2000),[40]Ajimu (2001),[41] andMahou Yuugi (2001).[39]
In 2002, Matt Jolly (better known as "Krinkels") released the first episode ofMadness Combat toNewgrounds.[42][43] The series is still ongoing, with the latest episode "Madness Combat 12: Contravention" released onTwitch in September 2024.[44]
In 2003,Microsoft launched MSN Video, offeringNBC-related content.[45][46] Its web seriesWeird TV 2000, a spin-off of the syndicated television seriesWeird TV, featured dozens of shorts, comedy sketches, and mini-documentaries produced exclusively for MSN Video. The video-sharing site YouTube was launched in early 2005, allowing users to share television programs.[47] YouTube co-founderJawed Karim said the inspiration for YouTube first came fromJanet Jackson's role in the 2004Super Bowl incident, when her breast was exposed during her performance, and later from the2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, which led to the idea of a video sharing site.[48]
From 2003 to 2006, many independent web series began to garner and achieve significant popularity, most notably the science fiction series known asRed vs. Blue byRooster Teeth. The series was distributed independently using online portals YouTube andRevver, as well as the Rooster Teeth website, acquiring over 100 million social media views during its run. (Rooster Teeth would eventually create computer-animated web seriesRWBY in 2013.) In 2004, adult animated seriesSalad Fingers was created, which amassed a cult following. The comedy seriesThe Burg, hailed as the internet's first sitcom and starringKelli Giddish andLindsey Broad, rapidly gained an audience and notice from the press before its creators signed a creation deal withMichael Eisner. The dramaSam Has 7 Friends, which ran in the summer and fall of 2006, was nominated for aDaytime Emmy Award, and was temporarily removed from the Internet when it was also acquired by Eisner.[49] In 2004–2005, Spanish producerPedro Alonso Pablos recorded a series of video interviews featuring actors and directors such asGuillermo del Toro,Santiago Segura,Álex de la Iglesia, andKeanu Reeves, which were distributed through his own website.[50][51][52]lonelygirl15,California Heaven, "The Burg", andSamHas7Friends also gained popularity during this time, acquiring audiences in the millions. (Science fiction thrillerlonelygirl15 was so successful that it secured a sponsorship deal withNeutrogena in 2007.)[53]
In 2004, Stewart St. John, executive producer and head writer of 1990s webisodicsThe Spot, revived the brand for online audiences asThe Spot (2.0), with a new cast, and as a separate soap opera onSprint PCS Vision-enabled cell phones, creating the first American mobile phone series.[54][55] St. John and partner Todd Fisher produced over 2,500 daily videos of the mobile soap, driving story lines across platforms to its web counterpart.
In 2007, the creators oflonelygirl15 followed up the series' success withKateModern, acomedy-drama series that debuted onsocial networkBebo, and took place in the same fictional universe as their previous show.[56]Big Fantastic created and produced thesoap operaProm Queen, financed and distributed by Michael Eisner's production firmVuguru, and debuted the series onMySpace.[57] Vuguru partnered withMark Cuban's channelHDNet to releaseAll-for-nots, amockumentary series byThe Burg creators Kathleen Grace and Thom Woodley, which debuted at theSXSW Festival in 2008.[citation needed] These web series highlighted interactivity with the audience in addition to the narrative on relatively low budgets. In contrast, the eight-webisode seriesSanctuary, starring actor/producerAmanda Tapping, cost $4.3 Million to produce. BothSanctuary andProm Queen were nominated for aDaytime Emmy Award.[58] Award-winning producer/directorMarshall Herskovitz created the dramaQuarterlife, which debuted on MySpace and was later distributed onNBC.[59]
In 2008, major television studios began releasing web series, such as theABC comedy showSqueegies, the NBC sci-fi showGemini Division,[60] and theBravo reality seriesThe Malan Show.[61][62][63]Warner Bros. relaunchedThe WB as an online network beginning with original mystery web series,Sorority Forever, created and produced byBig Fantastic and executive produced byMcG.[64] Meanwhile,MTV announced a new original web series created byCraig Brewer,$5 Cover, that brought together theindie music world and new media expansion.Joss Whedon created, produced and self-financed[65] musical comedy-dramaDr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starringNeil Patrick Harris andFelicia Day.[66]Big Fantastic wrote and producedForeign Body, a mystery web series that served as a prequel toRobin Cook's novel of the same name.[67] Beckett and Goodfried founded a new Internet studio, EQAL, and produced a spin-off fromlonelygirl15 titledLG15: The Resistance.[68]
Mainstream press began to provide coverage.[69] In the United Kingdom,KateModern ended its run onBebo. Bebo also hosted a six-month-long reality travel show,The Gap Year, produced byEndemol UK,[70] which also made interactive sci-fi dramaKirill forMSN.[71]
DuringMIPCOM in October 2008, MySpace announced plans for a second series and indicated that it was in talks with Australian cable networkFoxtel to distribute their first series on network television. Additionally, MySpace spoke of their plans to produce versions of theMySpace Road Tour reality series in other countries.[72] The emerging potential for success in web video caught the attention of top entertainment executives in America, including former Disney executive Michael Eisner, head of the Tornante Company at the time. Torante's Vuguru subdivision partnered with Canadian media conglomerateRogers Media on October 26, securing plans to produce upwards of 30 new web shows a year. Rogers Media agreed to help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, thereby solidifying a connection between old and new media.[73]
In 2009, the first web series festival was established, named theLos Angeles Web Series Festival.[74]
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In January 2010, the first episode ofindependent animation web seriesBattle for Dream Island was released onYouTube. Created by twin brothers Cary and Michael Huang, it is the firstgame show genreparody featuringanthropomorphic objects.[75]
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The rise in popularity of mobile Internet video, along with technological improvements to storage, bandwidth, and bitrates, led to the erasure of accessibility and affordability barriers. This meant that high-speed broadband and streaming video capabilities for producing and distributing a web series became a feasible alternative to "traditional" series production, which was formerly mostly done forbroadcast and cable television. In comparison with traditional TV series production, web series are typically less expensive to produce. This has allowed a wider range of creators to develop web series. As well, since web series are made available online, instead of being aired at a single preset time to specific regions, they enable producers to reach a potentially global audience who can access the shows 24 hours a day and seven days a week, at the time of their choosing. Moreover, in the 2010s, the rising affordability of tablets and smartphones and the rising ownership rates of these devices in industrialized nations means that web series are available to a wider range of potential viewers, including commuters, travelers, and other people who are on the go.
The emerging potential for success in web video has caught the eye of some of the top entertainment executives in America, including formerDisney executive and current head of theTornante Company,Michael Eisner. Eisner'sVuguru subdivision of Tornante partnered with Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Media on October 26, 2009, securing plans to produce over 30 new web shows a year.Rogers Media will help fund and distribute Vuguru's upcoming productions, solidifying a connection between traditional media and new media such as web series.[73] Web series can be distributed directly from the producers' websites, through streaming services or via online video sharing websites .[76]
TheWebby Awards, established in 1996 by theInternational Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS),[77] and theIndie Series Awards, established in 2009 by We Love Soaps,[78] recognize independently produced comedy, drama, andreality TV entertainment created for the web. In 2009, theInternational Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) was founded with the mission to support and recognize artistic and technological achievements in the digital entertainment industry.[79] It administered the selection of winners for theStreamy Awards, (which awards web series content) in 2009 and 2010.[80][81] Due to the poor reception and execution of the 2010 Streamy Awards, IAWTV decided to halt its production of the award ceremony.[82] The IAWTV followed this decision by forming theIAWTV Awards (which recognize creators, cast, and crew of short form digital series from around the world) in 2012.[83]
This programming is sometimes referred to as "short-form or web series".
Today, many consider the term "webseries" to be outdated and instead use "short form series".
Series must have a minimum of six episodes with an average length of 15 minutes or less, and be shown on traditional TV or via the Internet.
In the case where the sum of two episodes is less than 10 minutes of content, the entrant may provide up to 10 minutes total of content (drawn from additional episodes in the entered series)....
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