Lonely Without LonelyGirl15

There is a send-off piece over on NTV about the end of LonelyGirl15, a true pioneer of the webseries and one of the few honest success stories out there.

The question is, will we ever see anything like it again?

“There was an innocence and an excitement to the shows of this era that can never be replicated. It’s like the first season of The Real World: It was genuinely interesting because no one knew what was going to happen. The participants of every subsequent season (and every reality show that followed) knew they could get famous from it, so it became fake. Everyone knows that there is money, or a Hollywood deal, to be made on the web now, so there’s no sense of danger. The thrill is gone, replaced by a careful eye on playcounts, CPMs and creating a brand.”

I’m not quite as pessimistic as NTV.  I think there will always be kids out there excited by the chance to just get their vision out there, to be thrilled by the sheer fact that they are being seen and heard.  Will some of them be dreaming of Hollywood contracts?  Sure.  But plenty of others will just be dreaming up the next insane scene they can shoot and post with their buddies.

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From LG15 to KateModern and Now I Love Cheiftown

The latest news on the significant webseries front is that some folks are spinning off from the UK Bebo webseries Kate Modern to launch a new Brit-set webseries for MySpace.

“Big Balls Films and Pete Gibbons will make a pilot of the UK-set I Love Chieftown drama this month, with a full 60-”webisode” series launching in mid-September.

The drama will be based in east London and follow lead character Jamie, an aspiring filmmaker, as she follows an up-and-coming band and its journey to make it big.” (via)

Well, it sure does sound a bit like The All-For-Nots, Vuguru’s followup to Prom Queen from the makers of The Burg.  It is also another example of trying to find an excuse for the camera – something I think we are ready to move beyond in terms of webseries.  Everyone doesn’t have to either speak into a webcam or cameraphone.

Still, it sounds like a pretty big production with a 60-episode order.  I’ll certainly be checking it out.