Web Series - History

History

In 1995, Bullseye Art was one of the first web publishers to create what became known as webisodes. The first few webisodic content to come out of Bullseye Art included Porkchops, Internet the Animated Series and Rat Chicken. In 1998 Bullseye Art had a hit with Miss Muffy and the Muf Mob,which lead to a development deal with MTV. Bullseye Art also created Space Dog which gained popularity on Atom Films. The original Bullseye Art content can be seen currently on the Magic Butter web network.

From 2003 to 2006, several independent web series began to achieve popularity, most notably Red Vs. Blue (created by Rooster Teeth). The series was distributed independently using online portals YouTube and Revver, as well as the Rooster Teeth website. The series acquired audiences in the millions, with Red Vs. Blue receiving over 100 Million views during its 1st run. Sam Has 7 Friends, which ran in the summer and fall of 2006, was nominated for an Emmy and temporarily removed from the Internet when it was acquired by Michael Eisner.

Web television series have continued to gain in popularity and notoriety over the subsequent years. Some of the most notable web television series include XOMBIE, lonelygirl15, MySpace Road Tour, Prom Queen, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, "The Book Club", Urban Wolf, "Squad 85", The Guild, I Kissed A Vampire, Spellfury, The Legend of Neil, Red State Update, Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, Dorm Life, Platoon of Power Squadron, Speedie Date, Fred Figglehorn, The Annoying Orange, Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, Burning Love, Husbands, Kam Kardashian and many more. In 2009, web television series received their first awards show, the Streamys.