Will Whedonverse Magic Work for Fran Kranz Led 'MegaBot'?

At the risk of repeating what you undoubtedly already know, it’s no secret that web series with one or more affiliations to Joss Whedon are blessed with online pixie dust lately. The Guild certainly had a nice boost in fans after Felicia Day’s leading role in Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog last summer. And let’s not forget Day had an 8-episode run on Whedon’s TV Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So what’s to be made of the latest Whedon thespian, Dollhouse and The Cabin in the Woods star Fran Kranz, popping up online in a new web series? With today’s launch of robot comedy series MegaBot on Atom.com, it remains to be seen if the connection will bring with it any special perks.  It’s even already appeared on Whedonesque, the real-time hub of happenings in the Whedonverse, where fans found it worthy of inclusion.

The Power Rangers (or Voltron) spoof series isn’t quite Whedon standard, though gets by with some laughs, love triangles and self-aware know-it-alls piloting a superpowered robot. The five member team each sports its own color: Blue is Fran Kranz, Red is Miles Fisher, Pink is Heather Anne Campbell, Black is Giovanni Adams, and Yellow is none other than comedian Randall Park who as we noted earlier, you might know from Dr. Miracles.

We asked writer Micah Fitzerman-Blue, one of the co-founders of 5432 Films, the transmedia production company behind the series, about the Whedon connection. “Just to be a distant planet in the Whedonverse is a distinct honor,” he said. “The Whedon fan community has been incredibly warm to us for putting one of their own in MegaBot.”

The 5432 team, which includes directors Nathan Kitada and Aaron T. Umetani had actually taken a unique path to funding the project, teaming up with indie film production company Cherry Sky Films to back the production. From there, they ended up taking the 5-episode first season to Comedy Central’s Atom.com which Fitzerman-Blue called “a perfect fit.” The comedy video site is also home to standout The Legend of Neil, which he added is also a nice association. “We’re big fans of Legend of Neil and see it fitting stylistically into that same kind of cartoons and video games gone wrong theme.”

New episodes of the series come out every Wednesday for the next four weeks. As for more episodes, it remains to be seen how this first batch performs. “We would love to see a second season..and a 15th season,” added Fitzerman-Blue. Time will have to tell.