Jon Chu’s idea to make a dance-based television show might not that seem unconventional, especially with the popularity of shows like So You Think You Can Dance? and Dancing With The Stars. His idea, however, was for a series called The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (The LXD), a show about people with special powers that battled evil through dance movies. The story would be told through elaborate choreography and music – and no dialogue, no cameos and under 30 minutes an episode. Rather than go to the television networks and try to convince them of this unorthodox idea, he went straight to pitching a web show, where many experimental ideas for shows are finding a new home.
“I think if we explained it to a network, they would have shut the door on us,” he said. “There’s no way we could have done this on TV. There’s no way I could pitch this to a studio with a straight face.”
(More on TIME.com: Hulu Decides Not To Go Public, Wonders How To Raise Cash)
With shows like LonelyGirl15 making headlines and Red vs. Blue getting DVD pressings, web shows are growing in prevalence and influence. Online shows tend to have a lower production value and a shorter episode length, which allows for up-and-coming filmmakers to try out new techniques that normally would not have been greenlit by major networks. Because of the quick turnaround, seasons can be shot in a matter of weeks. Distributors who decide to pursue deals can see how popular the shows are without spending money on a pilot episode, and they have a guaranteed built in audience. “I wouldn’t say that every new show should start out online, but it’s a good option for people with a small budget,” CEO of Funny or Die Dick Glover said.
Finding a loyal viewership online is part of what helped The LXD get their deal with Hulu. One of Chu’s 15-year-old dancers from Step Up 2 asked the director if he could get him Miley Cyrus’ number. Knowing that was nearly impossible, his team came up with an idea of “challenging” Cyrus to a dance-off via a YouTube video. Four days later she posted her response with some of her dancers. What was even more amazing is that no one on Chu’s side had even attempted to contact Cyrus’ representatives; they relied on some friends who were backup dancers for Cyrus to relay the YouTube video to her. The battle went viral online, Chu explained, with over four million hits within the first four weeks. Chu wanted to take the show to the next level and tell fictionalized background stories behind each dancer. He knew the show belonged online and that it was not meant for a television audience. “We had an online audience and a YouTube channel that people wanted to see more of these dancers,” he said.
(More on TIME.com: Hulu Faces Calls To Evolve Or Die)
Website Funny or Die has also benefited from finding an audience on the web. CEO Glover said they’ve struck four network television deals that are in various stages of production, moving their presence from online to the broadcast medium. Most notably, the first season of their sketch comedy show with HBO Funny or Die Presents… will go on sale on January 11, with a second season starting January 14. The venture had a head start due to a partnership with Gary Sanchez Productions, featuring comedians Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, and funding from Sequoia Capital. Michael Kvamme, an aspiring stand up comedian, told his father, who worked with Sequoia Capital, about his idea to create a website where users could rate videos online similar to the method of the website Hot or Not/ After all the paperwork was signed, Glover said they tested out the model with the site’s first video The Landlord, which has received over 70 million views to date. The Funny or Die website wasn’t even fully functional at that point The Landlord was posted and was very simple; now Glover and his team pride themselves on the fact that even though they receive millions of hits a day, the site has never crashed from traffic.
Another thing that has helped Funny or Die’s sketch comedy work so well on the web is the fact that the clips are intended to be shorter than the average television episode. Online videos have evolved to be a truncated medium and longer projects tend not to be as viral. The LXD struggles with this problem as well. Initially, they wanted to make their episodes range from three to five minutes, but found it difficult to tell a cohesive longer story so they had to extend each episode length. The Hulu audience, which is used to watching episodes from television, began to demand longer online episodes as well since they were used to watching longer material. Chu admitted that he is very aware that his show is competing against these television shows for the same audience, who might not make the distinction between the differences of an online and a television show. “There is a very different cultural difference between the community at Hulu and YouTube,” Chu remarked.
(More on TIME.com: Hulu Preps First Ongoing Web Series)
But, a constant problem web shows struggle with is a lack of funding or time to complete the project. As Glover pointed out, with the amount of material online it can be hard to stand out when so many people can make their own show, so people really have to stand out with their material, which is why Funny or Die’s rating system can help. Chu feels that though it is true that web shows cost less to make, it doesn’t mean that they don’t need funding at all. “When I’m on a movie, we have so many resources,” Chu said. “We don’t have the resources in a web studio. We have to be just as creative in how to make the thing as to create the thing itself.”
That innovation is what is helping the web show evolve as filmmakers try new techniques that are pioneering television as we know it, on and offline. While The LXD and Funny or Die have reached what can be considered as the pinnacle of success for a web show, they are still constantly striving with new ways to help the web series grow online.
(More on TIME.com: A.V. Club Turns Their Podcast Into A Web Show)
“The LXD is built with the idea that this is something that will ebb and flow and grow with the community involved,” Chu said. “This is something that we take very, very seriously. This is it, this is the sandbox we’re trying. We’re going to fail, and we’re going to have victories, which is why we call it an online adventure. I try not to call it a webseries because that seems small for what it is.