'The Bannen Way' Lands Major Deal with Sony's Crackle

Ever since its slick and sexy trailer hit the web last August, The Bannen Way has been a hot property amongst web television buyers. News today is that the action web series has scored a major distribution deal with Sony for release on its digital network Crackle.com later this year.

The trailer for the series, from creators Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren was shot on the über snazzy RED camera, stood out in terms of quality and polish that exceeded much of the independent content out there last year. The sexy action series stars Gantt as Neal Bannen, a debaucherous thief looking to go straight after years on the wrong side of the law. Co-starring the beautiful Stana Katic (The Spirit; Quantum of Solace) this one screams sexy and seductive. Fittingly, they’ve landed a hefty roster of premium sponsors – Jaguar, Ray-Ban, and Apple – all of whose products are flaunted throughout the series.

The pickup was teased out in a piece today with the Hollywood Reporter covering the news that Crackle will be adding hundreds of movie titles to its online network.

“We don’t believe anything’s been done like this before online,” said Eric Berger, SVP of digital networks at Sony Pictures Television said at Sony’s upfront yesterday in New York speaking about the show’s exceptional quality compared to other online series.

Jesse Albert at ICM repped the series and presumably closed the deal with Sony. News of the pickup had been circling the rumor mill around town, with speculation growing of late. The deal is rumored to be in the mid-to-low six figures.