NBC Gets Online

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is bearish on the notion that online clips and ancillary web content for broadcast TV shows positively impact television ratings. Others know better, including NBC.

The network’s Digital Entertainment division announced Heroes, Chuck, The Office and 30 Rock will all have their own webisodes and a variety of interactive features for the upcoming summer and fall seasons. Each installment is expected to weave online and on-air storylines in order to give fans a more involved entertainment experience.

It’s about time. As I’ve said before, these television shows already have two key pieces of the production puzzle: talent and crew. For marginal costs, the networks can create web content while everyone hurries up and waits on set.

But what’s cooler is that NBC will also debut some original webisodes. 

###In Fears, Secrets, and Desires, two hosts will inspire users to share their deepest, darkest secrets on a new topic each week, and “selected posts will be adapted for an online NBC Anthology series that brings the posts to life with creative interpretation meant to tease, tantalize and possibly terrify… produced both in-house at NBC.com and by Hollywood talent.” Basically a confessional booth to the world with a little celebrity Geico ad mixed in.

Others include Gemeni Diaries – an Electirc Farm Entertainment production (they created the post-apocalyptic Afterworld) starring Rosario Dawson taking on the role of Harris Ford and battling some sort of bio-engineered replicants – set to debut this summer and Salon Confessions – a reality series revolving around hairstylists and their clients in a high-end Las Vegas resort and casino – airing Spring ’09.