Web series are older than the platforms now associated with them. In April 1995 an episode of Rox, a public-access show from Bloomington, Indiana, was uploaded to the internet, making it the first programme distributed via the web; the same year The Spot told an episodic soap story through photos, video and blogs. Flash cartoons such as Homestar Runner followed in 2000, and by 2007 and 2008 social networks and studios were making their own drama: KateModern on Bebo, Prom Queen on MySpace and, from Warner Bros., a relaunched online-only version of The WB.
Studio sites as springboards
Two series on this site came out of that period. Childrens Hospital, Rob Corddry's parody of hospital dramas, premiered as ten short episodes on TheWB.com on 8 December 2008; Adult Swim began airing them in July 2010 and kept the show going for seven seasons. Web Therapy, with Lisa Kudrow as a therapist who treats clients in three-minute online sessions, began as a web series; in April 2010 Showtime announced it would air the online episodes with extra scenes, and the TV version began on 19 July 2011.
A British footnote
The UK had its own early experiments. The lonelygirl15 team made KateModern for Bebo, and Endemol UK produced a reality travel series, The Gap Year, for the same site. Web Therapy later reached Britain in a different form: Channel 4's adaptation Hang Ups, co-written by and starring Stephen Mangan, began on 8 August 2018.
Key dates
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Rox goes online
An episode of an Indiana public-access show becomes the first programme distributed via the web.
Source: Wikipedia: Web series
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Childrens Hospital premieres on TheWB.com
Rob Corddry's parody debuts as ten short web episodes.
Source: Wikipedia: Childrens Hospital
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Web Therapy reaches Showtime
Lisa Kudrow's web series becomes a television comedy.