Retrofit Films Makes ‘House’ Calls With iPhone Appisodes

Although the House season finale was last night, fans will still be able to witness the world of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, thanks to Retrofit Films…well, if they have the correct Apple device, that is. The digital production company, which has produced three companion web series for NBC’s Heroes, an animated web series for the CW’s Smallville, and web content for The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl (just to name a few), has now produced a 13 part series exclusively to be viewed on Fox’s House-related app called INHouse for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices.

The three minute “appisodes” (as they are being called) will air weekly beginning Monday, May 24th and will spin-off character Nurse Jeffrey (who has appeared in two episodes of House and is played by Patrick Price) and will follow him as he explores the world of Princeton Plainsboro beyond the main characters of the show. The series is written by House staff writers and is described as having an Upstairs, Downstairs style of storytelling.

The INHouse app has already been available, being utilized during the season to include bonus episode-specific material, such as behind-the-scenes videos, interviews, and photos, access to alternative music selections not used in the show, writer supplied “House-isms” from each episode, and a video blog where writers discussed elements of each script. Weekly contests were also run, which featured giveaways of items from the set of each episode that were signed by the cast.

This isn’t the first network show to utilize an original app, Glee‘s online app stayed at the top of the “most downloaded” charts for several weeks, but this does seem to be the first time a network has utilized it to showcase a full companion series independent of the main series. If successful, it could be the key to opening up an additional revenue stream for content creators. Though it’s interesting to note that the INHouse app is available for free.