Tag Archives: web series

Louis C.K. surprises fans with new web series ‘Horace and Pete’ [Update: Louie opens up]

Wondering how comedian and TV star Louis C.K.’s spends his “free” time when his FX sitcom Louie goes on its extended hiatuses? He’ll perform standup, of course, and make it available on his website for five bucks. And now, apparently, he shoots another show and debuts it online without anybody knowing about its existence during production. It’s called Horace and Pete and it takes place inside an Irish pub run by Horace (played by Louie). Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire) plays his parter Pete and the web show is rife with cameos including but not limited to Alan Alda (The Blacklist), Edie Falco (Nurse JAckie), Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Rebecca Hall (The Town), and Steven Wright.

The black comedy skews dramatic and clocks in at just over an hour. It features an intermission where the characters discuss current events like the presidential race and the Super Bowl. Louie released Horace and Pete with little fanfare, simply posting a link to “a brand new thing from Louis C.K.” on his website and offering it up for $5. You can buy Episode 1 today, and it would appear that an additional three episodes are on the way. So…surprise!

Update (2/4): Louie has broken his radio silence regarding the release of his new show. Click after the break for more. Continue reading Louis C.K. surprises fans with new web series ‘Horace and Pete’ [Update: Louie opens up]

Comic Con: ‘Heroes Reborn’ aims to reinvigorate the old-school superhero series

Following those two initial teasersHeroes creator Tim Kring unleashed an extended trailer at Comic Con for his upcoming NBC event series Heroes Reborn. And I’ve got to say, it looks pretty damn good to me. I consider the first season of Heroes, which aired way back in 2006, one of the most exciting and gripping debuts for a TV series (even with the somewhat anti-climactic conclusion with Sylar slithering away). The show wavered in its ability to remain creatively charged over the course of its next few seasons, and it eventually fizzled out and was cancelled after its fourth batch of episodes aired in 2010. Now, Kring is back with a truncated 13-episode count and a tight story promising a beginning, middle, and end to wholly satisfy viewers. Kring is pushing for Reborn to harken back to the series’ season 1 roots, featuring a new cast of characters discovering extraordinary abilities for the very first time and dealing with the ramifications. Tying Reborn to Heroes proper are returning characters such as Noah “HRG” Bennet (Jack Coleman), among others. They all get nods in this trailer.

At the Heroes Reborn panel at Comic Con, Kring confirmed that the event series takes place 5 years after the conclusion of season 4 when–spoiler alert–it was made public that “EVOs” or evolved humans have powers. “The world knows about these people, so it changes the story considerably,” said Kring. “When you discovered you had a power, it was mystical journey of discovery. Now, if you wake up with a power, you know it’s a very bad thing because you’ll be exploited.”

Longtime viewers will find out what happened to fan-favorite characters, even the ones who aren’t returning to reprise their roles, such as Hayden Panettiere (who played cheerleader Claire Bennet) and Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli). “The universe that we’re building around the show does all that,” Kring said. “We do unpack what happened in the previous years. By the time you watch the finale, you’ll have a big chunk of that answered for you.”

While you’re waiting for Heroes Reborn to premiere this fall on NBC, there’s a digital web series that servers a prequel for what’s coming up. It actually stars Henry Zebrowski as Quentin Frady, a character who also has a major role in the event series. To watch the multi-part Dark Matter series, download the free Heroes Reborn app.

Dark Matter tells a story that connects up with the show in a really unique way,” says Kring. “I don’t think anybody’s ever quite done a series that connects up to the show in the way this does.” Sounds to me like Heroes fans know what they’re going to do tonight.

[Via Deadline 1, 2; TVLine]

Jennette McCurdy writes, produces, stars in new web series satirizing her Hollywood career

Former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy stars in a new web series about dealing with what comes next after your show is cancelled, going through a publicized breakup, and being forced to tackle a new chapter in life. You can say What’s Next For Sarah? is loosely based on events that recently unfolded in Jennette’s world. Nickelodeon rather abruptly cancelled spinoff series Sam & Cat starring Jennette and Ariana Grande, and this web series provides a satirical, humorous, and thoughtful outlook on her life following the cancellation fallout.

It’s about pulling back the curtain just a little bit and exposing what it’s like to live in a world full of sleazy agents and casting directors, shallow relationships, and the pressures of dealing with always being in the spotlight.

“I wanted What’s Next for Sarah to be a light-hearted call-out to some of the more absurd experiences I’ve faced growing up in the entertainment industry,” Jennette shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “My goal was to exaggerate some of the more classic Hollywood archetypes — the phony reporter, the insincere agent, the duplicitous casting director — and heighten them to a surreal extent that we can all laugh at. We all have those moments where we feel like the world is entirely crazy, and we’re the only sane person.”

This web series marks an exciting new venture for the young and talented actress. In addition to starring in the lead role as Sarah Bronson, Jennette penned and executive produced all four installments. When asked about what it was like to wear so many hats on set and to be heavily involved with the creative and production side of things, she explained to me the innately fast-paced nature of getting it all done.

What’s Next For Sarah was a real pet project for me. I had never been involved in the crew side of a production, and I saw this as an opportunity to do so,” Jennette told [experience-it-all]. “I wrote the scripts, passed them along to my friend Jesse Bloch, he said, “We gotta make these,” and the whole process snowballed from there. Two weeks later we attached my good friend Colton Tran to direct, and the three of us had four weeks of preproduction to find cast and crew, location scout, organize the departments, and get all set for production. It was a whirlwind. Three days of production and four weeks of post later and here we are!”

Click here to watch What’s Next For Sarah. The series is easily digestible; the bite-sized installments clock in at around three to six minutes in length apiece. Who knows–perhaps with enough viewership this won’t be the last we hear of Jennette McCurdy’s alter ego Sarah Bronson and the hysterically exaggerated world she lives in.

‘Horrible’ update: a sequel is still in the works

Horrible fans, here’s a quick update for you on the status of the return of his Horribleness. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, songwriter Jed Whedon perpetuated the notion that a sequel to the highly lauded Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is still most definitely in the works.

We know we have spoken publicly about a sequel in the near distance and our passion to create it, and I promise we have not been insincere. Horrible is still one of our favorite creations by humans who were also us. We have many songs written and the plot outlined, but needless to say, we’ve been busy. Joss has had a hectic couple of years and is in the middle of the busiest year of his life, as is Zack and as are we. Also the actors have other things they’re acting in, I think. So the future is uncertain, our passion remains. DH2 will exist, in some format or another, at some point in the future. Unfortunately, the when is still unclear.

It simply hasn’t happened yet because all those involved are busy these days: Neil Patrick Harris stars in CBS’s How I Met Your Mother and pops up as hosts of award shows and in the movies quite often these days; Nathan Fillion is enjoying a very popular season of Castle; Felicia Day is running her YouTube channel Geek & Sundry; Jed and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen are showrunning  ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Jed’s brother Zack is involved with Sundance’s upcoming drama The Red Road; and the eldest Whedon brother Joss, of course, is steering the Marvel Cinematic Universe and working on the Avengers sequel.

In closing, it’s not a matter of if but when. So keep your head up, Billy buddy.

[Via EW]

Fan favorite nurse Morgan stars in ‘Mindy Project’ web series (clips inside)

Do you watch The Mindy Project? If so, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will thoroughly enjoy the sitcom’s web series centered on the show’s breakout star Ike Barinholtz. It’s called The Morgan Project. Need I say more? Watch all three installments after the break, and keep tabs on the show’s official site for more.

The Mindy Project airs Tuesday nights at 9:30PM on FOX. Continue reading Fan favorite nurse Morgan stars in ‘Mindy Project’ web series (clips inside)

New ‘Revolution’ web series to be live action featuring Monroe & Neville in the flesh

One web series wasn’t enough, apparently. To help fans of NBC’s hot adventure drama Revolution bide their time during the series’ extended hiatus, the Peacock is introducing a second, this time live action web series featuring the show’s stars David Lyons (General Monroe) and Giancarlo Esposito (Captain Neville). According to EW, “The story will follow Capt. Neville on a mission to hunt down and kill and those who had a hand in the attempt to assassinate Monroe. While on his journey, however, Neville will apparently stumble “upon an even greater conspiracy that could change the course of the Republic forever.”” The five-part web series premieres Monday, February 25 at NBC.com. If you haven’t already, check out Revolution‘s animated web series that focuses on Sgt. Joseph Wheatly that debuted last month. The five released installements can be viewed at NBC, right here. Revolution kicks back into gear March 25.

Update (2/25): Episode 1 is out now! Watch it after the break.

Update 2: (3/18): All four episodes of Enemies of the State are out now. You know where to find ’em. Continue reading New ‘Revolution’ web series to be live action featuring Monroe & Neville in the flesh

‘Halo 4’ releases Tuesday; prepare and watch ‘Forward Unto Dawn’ web series

This Tuesday Halo 4 releases for Xbox 360 and a new trilogy forges on. In the original trilogy developer Bungie introduced us to the iconic Master Chief and we controlled the super-solider as he discovered the Halo Array and the Ark, crippled the alien alliance known as the Covenant, and battled the parasitic Flood. After going on to release a prequel to Halo 3 designated ODST and a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved with Halo: Reach, Bungie handed the franchise’s reigns to a new developer, 343 Industries. Halo 4 brings us back into control of the Chief, and we find him just where we left him at the end of Halo 3 in 2007; he’s aboard the UNSC ship Forward Unto Dawn, floating in space drifting toward a mysterious Forerunner planet called Requiem. Chief’s last words were delivered to Cortana, his AI companion, and they were, “Wake me, when you need me.” Halo 4, in addition to providing addicting online multiplayer modes, will delve deeper into the franchise’s mythology as Master Chief inadvertently crash lands on a Forerunner planet infested with Covenant, Forerunner technology, and, according to the game’s marketing, “an ancient evil awakens.” And on top of that, there’s something wrong with Cortana; she is going “rampant” (or insane) because she is operating beyond her natural lifespan.

Excited yet? Let me give you a boost…

Leading up to the release of Halo 4, Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries developed a five-part live-action web series set in the Halo universe. Forward Unto Dawn follows a group of freshman cadets at the UNSC’s Corbulo Academy of Military Science and places particular focus on troubled cadet Thomas Lasky. The story takes fans to the beginning of the Human/Covenant war and it seamlessly weaves into where things kick off in Halo 4. The series is a bold journey into the Halo universe and it tells a compelling story worth investing your time in, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise. The acting and special effects are surprisingly effective, and in addition to amping you up for the new game it will also make you wish a Halo miniseries a la HBO’s Band of Brothers was made. Forward Unto Dawn can be viewed online at Machinima or on your console via the Halo Waypoint app.

Halo 4 is being sold in various forms; there’s the regular copy ($60), the limited edition copy ($100), it’s bundled in a Halo-themed 320GB console package ($350), and there’s a Halo-themed wireless controller ($60). Want a read more before jumping in? IGN gives a glowing review. Watch the launch trailer after the break. Continue reading ‘Halo 4’ releases Tuesday; prepare and watch ‘Forward Unto Dawn’ web series

‘Walking Dead’ webisodes are back!

The return of The Walking Dead may be a little over a week away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your zombie fill right now. The show’s makeup and special FX expert Greg Nicotero is back directing a new batch of Walking Dead webisodes. The four-part web series is titled Cold Storage and it follows Josh Stewart (No Ordinary Family) as Chase, a man trying to make his way to his sister in the early days of the zombie apocalypse. Thanks to some nasty walkers, he is forced to make a pit stop at a storage facility controlled by a guy (Lost‘s Daniel Roebuck) who thinks he has it all figured out.

“It’s such a thrill to revisit the The Walking Dead world from a new perspective and tell a bit of a darker story this time around with the webisodes,” said Nicotero. “We had a terrific cast, and once again the crew came up with some killer walker gags and visual effects. This year there’s a clear nod to the ‘show’ but our story could definitely exist on it’s own as the ‘what if’ story of The Walking Dead.”

Here are direct links to the four gory, suspenseful installments that make up Cold Storage:

PART 1 // PART 2 // PART 3 // PART 4

The Walking Dead returns with all-new episodes October 14 on AMC.

Inventive new web series ‘The Playlist’ breaks down the past, present and future of music and tech

These days technology plays a big part in the production and progression of music. Don’t believe me? There’s a new web series out now that will help explain and entertain. It’s called The Playlist and it comes from the minds of G4’s Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira and Musical Playtime segment producer Yaniv Fituci. The web show serves as a platform to educate fans of music across all genres about the fusion of technology, music, and pop culture as well as an interactive competition that will pit renowned musicians against each other to claim victory inside the “Audio Octagon.”

Episode 1, directed by Nick Tabri, is out today and it is comprised of five videos. Video DJ and turntablist Mike Relm (perhaps best known for his “Old Spice Remix” clip) explores the history of video mixing and tells how the art of VJing has become a worldwide phenomenon today. The other videos introduce the first two teams who will enter the Audio Octagon, namely video mixers Eclectic Method and Screenwerks. In addition to getting to know the players, you will also be acquainted with their DJ equipment that includes Pioneer’s DVJ-1000 and DJM-800 and Novation’s Dicer. And then there are the rules.  Field correspondent Kathryn Lyn explains that each team is given a playlist of 15 unique samples ranging from viral hits to video game sequences and over the course of three rounds a winner will be crowned based on the most creative use of the audio-visual clips. Viewers can voice their opinions and vote for the victor over Twitter. The battle between Eclectic Method and Screenwerks is coming soon.

With The Playlist, Pereira and Fituci intend to spark interest and discussion around the way modern technology is shaping the evolution of music and the pop culture scene. Over the course of several episodes sponsored by Pioneer DJ, The Playlist will cover a wide spectrum of musically-inclined technology like controllerism, chiptune, percussion, and MIDI. Sure, it’s cool to say you’ve seen the latest and greatest viral hits the Internet so generously offers; but wouldn’t it be even better to be informed about the people and technology that drive them?

Enter The Playlist. (Facebook / Twitter)

Another ‘Guild’ music video: “I’m the One That’s Cool”

Felicia Day and her team of Guildies have released their third music video based on Day’s wildly popular web series The Guild. Jed Whedon directed and co-wrote the song with Day. How does it compare to the insanely catchy “(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar” and the Bollywood themed rompus from the past? Click play and find out for yourself! Fun fact: I assisted in the making of this video. So watch it and share it and love it.

‘Parks and Rec’ goes to the Grand Canyon in web series starring April & Andy

If you watched the latest episode of Parks and Rec, then you know that the Pawnee gang survived the (nonexistent) apocalypse in “End of the World.” During the episode, April encouraged her hubby Andy to check things off his bucket list. Among the many absurd activities on the list (including making the “most awesome” grilled cheese sandwich) was visiting the Grand Canyon. Actors Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt and some crew members shot the quick scene on location in Arizona. While they were there, additional scenes were shot that never made it in the episode. These scenes were packaged into four separate webisodes and are available to watch online right now! The web series is called Parks and Recreation: Road Trip, and it follows April & Andy’s antics at the Grand Canyon. The first one, “Spider,” is embedded above; watch the others plus a behind the scenes clip at NBC.com.

Dragon Age web series starring Felicia Day debuts

Felicia Day, creator of The Guild and Penny from Dr. Horrible, stars as Tallis the Elvish assassin in the new six-part web series Dragon Age: Redemption. It takes place in Bioware’s Dragon Age universe, based on the video game franchise of the same name. Though the web series is essentially here to promote downloadable content for Dragon Age II, it also serves to elevate the relevance and respectability of a made-for-Internet series. Check out the first episode titled “Tallis” to see how Day and the creative team behind it have expertly blended fun dialogue (written by Day) and exciting action (directed by Peter Winther) that results in a worthy introduction to a live action series grounded in a video game-based world. New episodes will be uploaded to Machinima’s YouTube channel every Tuesday at midnight.