Supernatural fans will definitely be interested in this one.  The new web series Divine is being created by Maple Blood Productions, which is a Vancouver-based production company of filmmakers.  Ivan Hayden, Supernatural's visual effects supervisor, is involved, as is one of Supernatural's stars, Misha Collins.

Divine appears to be a dark and religious story, with apocalyptic undertones.  Here's the official description:

"Coping with his loss of faith, a young priest has his world turned upside-down when he witnesses the resurrection of an immortal being named Divine. Given sanctuary by the church, Divine leads a never-ending crusade to show lost souls they have the power to choose their destiny between good and evil. With guidance from the priest’s mentor and Divine’s street-smart sidekick, the Father must now confront his own demons and the dark forces that challenge Divine."

The cast is populated with a solid group of actors (a few of whom are Canadian).  To see the complete cast list, click here.  Supernatural's Misha Collins also has a starring role in Divine as Father Christopher.

Divine has both a website (here) and a YouTube page (here).  Yesterday, an interesting teaser video was released for the series, which will debut in Summer 2011 (you can watch it below).

Because of our love for Supernatural, and the dark and intriguing look of this teaser, we'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this developing web series!

clarissa @ tvovermind.com
twitter.com/clarissa373
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Divine: First Look at the New Web Series

More and more, these days, we're seeing a growing number of web series.  The newest is one called Six Figures, which was created by Kevin Fukunaga.

Six Figures is a web series about six friends, trying to make it in Hollywood.  Not necessarily as actors, though.  In fact, most of them have some strange jobs.  The group is composed of three men and three women who are: an actor, a comedian, a filmmaker, a musician, a model and a writer.  But in actuality, they're day jobs consist of them being: an actor, an assistant to a Hollywood "mogul", a model, a dogwalker, a signholder and possibly someone in porn.

In other words, they're all struggling to make it big.

The webseries doesn't have a lot of risque scenes, but the language - and the themes - are definitely NSFW.

Three episodes have been released so far and can be found on the series' official website (which also directs you to the episodes on other platforms).  The first episode introduces us to each of the characters and their terrible day jobs, while the second one focuses on roommates - Tucker's search for a new one, and a new boy moving into Laurel's apartment complex.  The third episode (released today), revolves around Gabrielle's upcoming "bearding" job for a gay Hollywood player.

Six Figures stars: Catherine Annett, Lira Kellerman, Jason Lockhart, Marco Naggar, Marcus A. Stewart and Katie Wilson.

I've embedded the pilot episode for you below.  Remember, NSFW for language (especially later episodes).  If you're interested in watching episodes 2 and 3, visit the Six Figures YouTube page.

clarissa @ tvovermind.com
twitter.com/clarissa373
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Six Figures Web Series: What's It All About?

A few weeks ago I posted a preview of an innovative new web series called 31 (read more here).  Each day at 3:31 p.m. ET, on the series' YouTube channel, a new 31 second long episode would appear.  The web series opened with a girl trapped in a wooden crate in the middle of a mysterious warehouse.  After calling out for help, we learned that a boy was trapped in a crate next to her.  We haven't had very many glimpses of their captors, but we do know that they're being held by men (?) in white lab coats.  Before they escaped their crates, the girl saw rusty, bloody tools on a nearby table.

After finally escaping the warehouse, the pair found themselves out in the woods.  But something was wrong.  As the girl pointed out, the sun wasn't visible in the sky and no birds or insects could be heard.

So the question is, who (or what) captured these people?  They have no real memories of who they were and only have the numbers 30 and 31 tattooed on their arms (the girl is #31).  Over the course of the short series, the pair threw out possible explanations for who took them (for example, demons or normal people).  Perhaps the oddest explanation was the theory that something dead chose to insert itself in the lives of these people, so they were captured and then "replaced".

I've been lucky enough to view episodes 27, 28 and 29 of the series, and I don't want to spoil anything for you (even though I have absolutely no idea how it will end), but could the girl be right with her latest guess?  What has captured them and brought them to this mysterious place?  I was recently sent this mysterious message, which mentions a "transformation":

UNIT G
WORK JOURNAL
WEEK 72.2 OF FIRST EXTRACTION
JOURNAL ENTRY TIMECODE: 0083.721.67.9
SUBJECT 31:
Observations: Initial observations of Subject 31 indicate nothing unusual despite incident during transport.

UNIT G
WORK JOURNAL
WEEK 72.3 OF FIRST EXTRACTION
JOURNAL ENTRY TIMECODE: 0084.271.69.8
SUBJECT 31:
Observations: Humanoid female in appearance; average; unremarkable.

UNIT G
WORK JOURNAL
WEEK 73.2 OF FIRST EXTRACTION
JOURNAL ENTRY TIMECODE: 0080.126.54.9
SUBJECT 31:
Observations: Later assessments show underestimation of physical and psychological strength and stamina.

UNIT G
WORK JOURNAL
WEEK 73.4 OF FIRST EXTRACTION
JOURNAL ENTRY TIMECODE: 0078.620.19.4
SUBJECT 31:
Observations: Mid-transformation problems. Interesting possibilities, but dangerous.

UNIT G
WORK JOURNAL
WEEK 73.5 OF FIRST EXTRACTION
JOURNAL ENTRY TIMECODE: 0080.021.07.0
SUBJECT 31:
Observations: Subject 31 has escaped.

IMPERATIVE: FIND HER.

Mysterious, indeed.  If you haven't been following the web series you can view all of its episodes so far here.  Due to the length of the episodes, it'll be a matter of minutes before you're caught up.  Then tune in the rest of this week to find out how it will end.

clarissa @ tvovermind.com
twitter.com/clarissa373
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Web Series '31' Coming to a Close: But How Will it End?

Web series are gaining popularity now as more people try to ride the trend of readers going online to watch television.  A new kind of web series will be premiering on March 31, aptly named '31'.

Created by L.C. Cruell, the director of several short films and the writer of several screenplays, '31' will consist of 31 episodes, each of them only 31 seconds long, and released at 3:31 p.m. each day.  Cruell says “It has the story arc of a film with the structure of television, told cliffhanger by cliffhanger, within the attention span of the Internet. It's the best of all three worlds."  The budget for the entire web series is also impressive.  It only cost $390 to make.

But what's it all about?  A trailer for the web series is embedded below.  From what we can tell, it's a suspense/horror series that focuses on two people - a man and a woman - who are trapped.  It looks like the woman wakes up in some sort of box, but the duo eventually manages to free themselves from their makeshift coffins.  And that's when the real mystery begins.  Who captured them?  What do these mysterious people want?  Why are they being held and will they be able to escape?

It looks like each episode will be released on the series' YouTube page (view it here).  I've been able to watch two of the later episodes and you should expect daily cliffhangers for the episodes.  This is certainly a novel ideal, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Make sure you tune into the first episode tomorrow and follow the series' Twitter account (@31theseries) to keep up to date.  Here are the full details:

Date: 3/31/11– 5/1/11
Time: 3:31 p.m. ET Daily
Twitter: @31theseries
YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/31webseries

clarissa @ tvovermind.com
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'31' Web Series Preview: What's It All About?

The new season of Dexter has been airing for a few weeks and now Showtime has announced the second season premiere of the Dexter "Early Cuts" web series.  The series is available to viewers in the United States on the Showtime website here.

The first episode is now available to watch and Showtime has released a summary of the storyline.

NEW YORK, NY – October 25, 2010 – SHOWTIME has launched the second season of its animated webisode series Dexter Early Cuts: Dark Echo, available online now on sho.com/earlycuts. The web series, drawn by award-winning illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz ("Batman," "Superman" and "X-Men" comics/"The Dark Knight"), notable comic book illustrator David Mack ("Daredevil," "Kabuki") and voiced by series star and executive producer Michael C. Hall, gives DEXTER™ fans an early look at the life of America's favorite serial killer with storylines that predate the show. Dexter Early Cuts will also be available via online affiliate portals and to Showtime subscribers on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®.

The six chapters in the second installment of DEXTER Early Cuts, feature an even more compelling story, illustrations and animation style – with the first three webisodes illustrated by Sienkiewicz and chapters four through six illustrated by Mack. Dexter Early Cuts: Dark Echo is comprised of one long-form story with a script by Dexter Co-Executive Producer Tim Schlattmann. In DARK ECHO, Dexter Morgan is challenged by a copy-cat killer who does not follow any sort of code. The story opens immediately after his father Harry's death, with Dexter in his early twenties and his sister Debra still in high school. Dexter is enrolled in medical school where he's studying anatomy to improve his "craft." During a routine kill, Dexter realizes that another student has been spying on him and knows that he is a serial killer. He confronts the student after he begins to commit murders in Dexter's style and the two clash over the ethics of their situations. Dexter's faceoff with his 'Dark Echo' represents the first time his code is tested since his father's death, and the incident helps reinforce the importance of Harry Morgan's code.

Emmy® Award nominee and Eisner Award-winning illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz has worked on some of the most famous comic franchises in history including "Batman," "Superman" and "X-Men," among others. In the mid-1980s, he was known for revamping comics with his impressionist-influenced style. More recently, he was hired by Warner Brothers to sketch and concept the makeup and wardrobe for Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight," as well as the upcoming "Green Lantern" starring Ryan Reynolds.

David Mack is a New York Times best-selling author and artist of the "Kabuki" graphic novels from Marvel Comics, the writer and artist of "Daredevil" from Marvel Comics, and the author and artist of the children’s book "The Shy Creatures." A seven-time Eisner Award nominee, Mack has illustrated and designed jazz and rock albums for both American and Japanese labels, paintings for Paul McCartney and Tori Amos, and contributed the artwork for Dr. Arun Ghandi's essay on the "Culture of Non-Violence." Currently, Mack is working with the Philip K. Dick Estate to adapt the science fiction master's work to graphic novels at Marvel Comics, co-writing a new "Daredevil" story with Brian Michael Bendis, and writing his new children's books.

Showtime Launches Second Season of Dexter "Early Cuts" Web Series

Bryan Singer gets involved in web series

He's brought us Superman Returns and X-men movies, been a large part of bringing us House on Fox, he directed Valkyrie and has recently been connected to the new Battlestar Galactic movie reboot and an Excalibur remake.  Why do I get the feeling that Bryan Singer might be the next Jerry Bruckheimer?  Okay, that's definitely going to far, but he is leaving is mark on Hollywood these days for both the big and small screen.  And now, it seems, he's branching out into the recently growing web series arena.

Details are VERY limited, in fact, hardly more than a tease at the moment.

"I'm doing a Web series with Bryan Singer and Warner Brothers which I can't talk about," said director/producer Stewart Hendler in a group interview on Aug. 30.  Hendler was promoting the film Sorority Row that comes out this weekend. He went on to say, "I'm under NDA. It's sci-fi, it's set in the future, and it's got a Lost vibe to it. That's kind of all I can say, unfortunately. It's super top secret."

Hendler did talk a little more about the artistic freedom afforded on the web, and also the financial challenges that come with the territory as well.  "...yes, lots of creative freedom in that way. Very challenging in terms of financial and how much content we want to put out there. We want to do about two hours, 48 episodes, three to five minutes each. It's very, very ambitious. Nobody's funding a Web series at the levels they fund movies right now, so we'll see."

We'll keep our ears to the floor for more info on this project and what it might envolve.  Stay tuned.

Source: SciFi Wire

Bryan Singer Involved With New Sci-Fi Web Series

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NBC launched the first three episodes of their new web series CTRL today on NBC.com and Hulu.com.  CTRL is based on the 2008 Sundance award winning short film "CTRL-Z" and will feature a total first season of ten episodes written and directed by Canadian film maker Rob Kirbyson.

CTRL is a comedy that stars Tony Hale (from Arrested Development) as Stuart, a mistreated office worker who spills a bottle of Nestea (two guesses who their #1 sponsor is) on his computer keyboard transforming it into a magical device capable of manipulating the laws of space and time with the click of a button.  Some of Stuart's new-found abilities include the power to rewind time, move objects, become invisible, and clone himself.  Better yet, his reality manipulating keyboard may finally allow him to stand up for himself to his idiot boss, Ben Piller (Steve Howey from Reba fame).  But will it give him the courage to finally tell Elizabeth (Emy Coligado), the woman of his dreams, how he really feels about her, or will he simply keep undoing it all?

CTRL is the first stand alone web series to be launched by any of the major television networks so far, and you have to applaud NBC for having the guts to jump out there first and start testing the waters.  In fact, I'm so convinced that this is the future filler of our entertainment needs that I almost don't even care if CTRL sucks worse than I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.  The mere fact that its being done is enough to garner my support for the project.  Lucky for me, it doesn't suck at all.

I absolutely loved Tony Hale in Arrested Development and he doesn't disappoint as Stuart, the average office loser-nerd who doesn't have the self-confidence to stand up for anything, and has spent his life getting walked all over by just about everyone around him.  Even his office dreamgirl seems so far out of reach and you instantly realize what this magical keyboard means to Stuart.  I was immediately struck by how well connected I was able to become with the three main characters in a short, five minute episode, but that's a testament to the story-telling.

One small caveat I'd offer is to give this series a chance beyond the first three episodes.  Starting out, there is a somewhat Groundhog Day feel to CTRL, where it seems like a lot of stuff is just getting repeated over and over.  This is great in a two-hour movie like Groundhog Day, but a little different in a 5-minute per episode comedy on the internet.  However, by the forth and fifth episodes, CTRL begins to settle into a nice grove with warm-hearted humor and characters you can't help but love.  By no means is CTRL the next Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, but it is a great launching pad to original scripted content produced for the web.

CTRL will be distributed online on NBC.com, Hulu.com, USANetwork.com, via mobile on NBC Wap, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and MobiTV, on Video on Demand on Comcast, Time Warner cable, Charter, Dish Network, Verizon, AT&T U-verse and Cablevision and downloadable on Xbox, Zune, Amazon UnBox, Sony Playstation Network and iTunes.  But best of all, because its on the web, you can simply watch the first three episodes below!  Check it out for yourself!

Episode 1 - Ctrl

Episode 2 - Ctrl-B

Episode 3 - Ctrl-Z

NBC Launches CTRL, A New Web Series