Harper’s Globe will be launched on March 18 in anticipation of Harper’s Island with original web episodes that will support the on-air storyline with overlapping characters, locations, and plots. Beckett and Goodfried, who created hit online shows lonelygirl15, KateModern, and LG15: The Resistance were tapped by CBS in May 2008 to conceptualize, develop, and produce social shows related to CBS’ television series, and act as a consulting partner to CBS Interactvie and provide the network with a first look at new multi-platform show concepts.
“Harper’s Island sounded really cool to us from a creative standpoint, Beckett told us. “We thought that the mystery elements would go really well with an internet audience and the concept really fit our sensibilities—the show has a lot of lonelygirl elements from a narrative standpoint.”
“Jon [Turtletaub] and some of the other producers on the show came from doing Jericho and they saw with Jericho the power of an internet audience” added Goodfried, ” and they certainly wanted this time going forth to start from scratch making sure they were catering to that audience and getting them the right content.”
“Harper’s Island [see trailer above] is a really unique show, so I was thrilled when the network and the studio decided to break new ground and exploit all platforms of the show from the start,” said Turtletaub. “Putting CBS Interactive together with EQAL gives the show an innovative and entertaining online presence a full three weeks before they launch the on-air program. The multi-platform, interactive elements at Harpers Globe expand the whole experience of our show, which I feel is beyond necessary in the world of such rapidly changing media. We have to make our show an internet event, as well as a broadcast TV event.”
When EQAL came on board to develop Harper’s Globe, Harper’s Island was only a pilot script and a short presentation, according to Beckett. “In our very early meetings, they planned their series around what we were going to do with the web series—certain things that happen in the TV show and that happen in the web series are the result of our creative conversations together.”
The show will have many of the same visual and narrative elements of LG15: The Resistance—primarily a hand-held ‘Cloverfield’ style first person camera technique with interactive elements that shape the story. “How to use interactivity in a way that doesn’t destroy story has been the hardest part on this journey of lonelygirl and KateModern,” said Beckett. “With all of the shows we have done there is always that tension between having lots and lots of participation but not destroying the foreshadowing and types of setup and dramatic tension you need for good narrative.”
Now Polish-based producers Agora and A2 Multimedia have signed on to produce a new series in the LG15 Universe, n1ckola, with sponsors Microsoft, Hasbro, Polkomtel and Samsung. Over 100 episodes will be produced and released in Europe, expanding the lonelygirl15 franchise’s global reach. Episodes air beginning January 26.
“TV is still an enormous place and I think the real home run here for Harper’s Globe would be audiences watching the TV show and loving it and then taking it to the next level online—we’re not trying to do something that replaces television, we’re trying to make something that makes the television experience even better.”
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