

Could Louis C.K. Make His TV Show Using The Direct-To-Fan Model? - lightspot
http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20120706/14054419608/could-louis-ck-make-his-tv-show-using-direct-to-fan-model.shtml

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JonnieCache
Steve Coogan pretty much did this last year, with _Alan Partridge's Mid
Morning Matters._ It went out on youtube, sponsored by Fosters and then I
think it got bought by sky and shown on TV. They were only 15 minute single
camera things though. Plus, he already part owns his own production company,
so I guess it's not a direct comparison.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Morning_Matters_with_Alan_P...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Morning_Matters_with_Alan_Partridge)

Also, just last week there was a 20 minute comedy pilot called _People Just Do
Nothing_ on the BBC which started life as a series of 10 minute youtube
shorts. It had various industry people behind it, such as the producer from
_The Office._ It'll likely get a series.

It seems that in UK comedy at least, instead of pitching your show to
commissioning editors at the channels, who probably won't understand it, you
just make your own pilot and put it on youtube to demonstrate the concept.
Peter Serafinowicz did this back in 2007:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peter_Serafinowicz_Show>

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corin_
> _It seems that in UK comedy at least, instead of pitching your show to
> commissioning editors at the channels, who probably won't understand it, you
> just make your own pilot_

That's less common than people who pitch traditionally, but yeah there are
people who do that. I think the reason it works with comedy is that often you
can make a good pilot with a tiny budget, and possibly the reason it happens
more in the UK than the US is that our (English) comedy is slightly less
formulaic and more crazy - subjective point of view, though.

A couple of other examples... American sitcom "It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia", the actors spent $200 shooting a pilot that they showed to
networks as their pitch. The Office (original UK version) was originally a
student project by Stephen Merchant, with Gervais as the only actor in it, and
they then sold the show to the BBC based on that video they made. Gervais said
in an interview something along the lines of "the BBC never would have bought
it based on a traditional pitch because it only makes sense and is funny when
you actually see it".

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andy_herbert
'It's only a matter of time...'.

Somehow, I doubt it. Louis C.K. is in a pretty unique space to try and do this
kind of thing, and as mentioned in the article he would have no obvious reason
to do this for his own show. To my, admittedly limited, knowledge no-one has
managed to replicate the success that Louis has had, so if the implication is
that we're on the cusp of major disruption in the distribution model, then I
remain sceptical. In the next 10-20 years? Sure, why not.

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methodin
His show was on a few years back and got cancelled (which was part of the
reason I was interested in the new show - because I used to watch the other
one) so I imagine he understands that, while things are good, they can flip in
an instant. I can't imagine if his show did get cancelled that he wouldn't
make an attempt to bring it back.

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danso
Yes, but the entertainment industry changed vastly since his first sitcom,
both in trends and in distribution. It's not merely a matter of "you win some
you lose some" now, but a new world of "this is how I can make things happen,
without a major studio behind me"

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rmason
I'd sure like to see Dave Chappelle get the cast back together and resurrect
his old show. Maybe if he was in total control he could deal with the
pressure. He could even stage it on his Ohio farm if he wanted.

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crazygringo
I can't see him doing it for the show "Louie" itself, since it's already in a
good position.

But I could completely imagine someone else in a similar position doing,
perhaps even with Louis CK's help and the same platform. Imagine if Chris Rock
wanted to launch a new crazy-experimental TV show. Funding via the Internet,
with Louis CK's help, and then license it to a TV channel as well. I think it
would be a huge success.

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meatsock
a thousand times yes, tv production needs that sort of disruption.

