AOL Gives Long-Form Series ‘Connected’ A March 31st Release Date

Back in April 2014, AOL Originals decided to change up its typical content offerings by announcing its first-ever long-form series Connected. Now, the digital network revealed the web series will debut on March 31, 2015.

Connected combines the documentary, drama, and reality genres to present a larger picture of how individual New York City residents represent the city’s society as a whole. Each individual highlighted in AOL’s upcoming long-form series was given a camcorder and asked to capture their everyday struggles, and successes over the period of six months. This footage was combined to create the 20 episodes of Connected.

The New Yorkers featured in Connected include interior designer and architect photographer Nina Ferrer-Mannino and her husband Stefano Mannino; stand-up comedian and host of MTV’s Broke A$$ Game Show Derek Gaines; aspiring writer and SPIN owner Jonathan Bricklin and his girlfriend, well-known actress Susan Sarandon; Flying Television CEO and Founder Lori Levine and her fiance Jan van Arsdale; radio and TV host Rosie Noesi and boyfriend Joshua Baggett; and married tech executives Eli and Ido Bendet-Taicher.

“Connected marks a new genre in the world of reality television, capturing authentic, real life stories in a way that we’ve never seen before,” said Dermot McCormack

, President of AOL Video and AOL Studios, in a release. “We’re excited to bring this new form of storytelling exclusively to the AOL audience on all screens.”

“This series pulls back the curtain on the world of over-produced, fabricated reality TV, and what emerges is raw emotion and real storytelling,” said Morgan Spurlock, President and Founder of Warrior Poets, the production company working on Connected. “The characters are truly brave and aspirational in what they share with the world.”

Sponsored by Sprint, Connected was inspired by the Israeli docu-drama series Mehubarim Plus from Koda Communications. AOL’s long-form series will be executive produced by McCormack, Spurlock, and Ram Landes and Ami Teer of Koda.

You can watch the premiere episode of Connected on March 31 via AOLOriginals.com. Following the series’ debut, the remaining episodes will be released in four-episode batches every two weeks through May 25.