Squeegees

Format: Episodic Series
Length: 5-7 minutes
Genre: Comedy

It’s a simple formula: take a talented sketch comedy group, give them a very basic environment in which to run wild, and sit back to watch the madness that follows. Still in an experimental phase of online video development, ABC.com has turned to this formula in an effort to bolster their new interactive production arm — Stage 9 — and for the most part, it works very nicely.

On the heels of ABC’s unsuccessful first attempt at an original series (the frequently-clever Voicemail), Squeegees is a safe bet for building and keeping a mostly-younger audience. The show revolves around a team of high-rise window washers and the utterly absurd events that transpire throughout the course of their daily work. Chock full of pop-culture parodies ranging from “Cliffhanger” to a fake Nickelback music video, Squeegees at least makes up for its immature humor by taking some risks and challenging its audience in ways one would never see on, say, ABC Primetime. As far as internet video goes, Squeegees is very well-produced and acted, clearly utilizing a much larger budget than most others are able to spend on production value for interactive content. Whether or not the Squeegees experiment will be a success is hard to say, but one can assume that the team behind the show will continue to create some insanity that’s probably worth watching in the meantime.

Who would like it: Fans of sketch comedy and sit-com audiences.
Demographic: 14-30
Sponsorship Opportunities: Companies focused on youth, and teenage consumers.
Product Placement Opportunities: The characters in the show manage to incorporate products into the storyline with consistency.
Press: Forbes, New York Times.

Clark and Michael

Format: Episodic Series
Length: anywhere from 4-15 minutes
Genre: Comedy

Michael Cera, a rising star with a terrific radar for intelligent comedy (“Superbad,” “Juno,” and TV’s “Arrested Development”), needed something to do during the school year while he attends college. CBS needed to whet their appetite for internet television programming. What resulted is the delightfully adolescent original web series Clark and Michael, created and executed by Cera and his best buddy Clark Duke (you may notice him as a bit player in “Superbad”).

Clark and Michael feels a bit as though “Arrested Development” went low-tech and started to follow around Cera’s George Michael as he and his best buddy struggle to launch a career in Hollywood. And considering the critical success of “Arrested,” there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Clark and Michael is chock full of great performances, including occasional cameos by notable comedians such as David Cross. The show has as tendency to meander and run slightly too long for computer-based entertainment, however thanks to iTunes and the advent of podcasting, one can give Clark and Michael the optimal viewing experience it deserves — watching it as a full-length television program. Despite it’s big media parent company, Clark and Michael has received only moderate “buzz” and feels like internet television’s best kept secret. Perhaps if word finally gets out that Clark and Michael exists, they’ll get around to making Season 2.

Who would like it: Fans of improv and sketch comedy, sit-com audiences, lovers of anything entertainment-related.
Demographic: 14-30
Sponsorship Opportunities: With an ‘A-list’ star creating the show, opportunities abound for sponsors.
Product Placement Opportunities: Clark and Michael are extraordinarily influential members of the 14-30 demographic and consume many products within the show.
Press: Variety.