Fast forward
As BBC Three makes the transition to web-only, Morning Wire presents the top ten online TV shows dragging television clicking and streaming into the future.
1. House of Cards
On-demand service Netflix commissioned its first online-only series last year and it’s been a runaway success, with a third series in the pipeline and a Golden Globe award to its name. Kevin Spacey plays a Democrat in modern-day Washington who goes on a revenge rampage after he misses out on the Secretary of State job. It’s single-handedly responsible for bringing online TV into the mainstream. netflix.com
2. Between Two Ferns
This satirical chat show on Will Ferrell’s Funny Or Die web channel attracted attention this week after Barack Obama appeared as a guest to promote his healthcare insurance scheme for young people. Zach Galifianakis – the tubby one from The Hangover films – hosts antagonistic interviews with celebrities, which often turn into slanging matches with only two potted plants to break the ice. funnyordie.com
3. H+
Warner Brothers has teamed up with YouTube to create this ambitious science fiction series set in a dystopian future. Filmed in Santiago, Chile, over 29 days in 54 locations, it depicts a world where one third of the population has an H+ implant that gives the human brain 24/7 high-speed internet access. This chip is soon infected with a deadly virus and the future of the human race is at stake. youtube.com
4. Young Turks
Political debate show Young Turks has enjoyed phenomenal success with its programmes aimed at students and anyone else frustrated with the standard of news broadcasting offered by the mainstream American TV channels. Presenter Cenk Uygur (pictured) made the jump over to regular TV when MSNBC hired him as a substitute anchor and eventually offered him his own show. youtube.com
5. The Guild
The Guild is an American online-only comedy series that ran for six seasons between 2007 and 2013. Loosely based on a World of Warcraft online gaming community, The Guild centres on an online gamers’ guild. The show explores the balance between gamers’ online lives and real lives and what happens when these two separate worlds come into contact. youtube.com
6. My Drunk Kitchen
LA-based comedian Hannah Hart – or Harto as she’s known online – currently has two series of her drunken culinary escapades on YouTube. Food puns are deployed liberally (“Omelette you finish”) as she attempts to cook simple dishes while drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Look up the episodes on Thanksgiving, Dr Who, and the best way to post cake to a loved one. You won’t be disappointed. youtube.com
7. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is forever being updated and revamped, but American web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is the first adaptation to take the form of video blog. Because most of the action is just Lizzie speaking to the camera, most of the action takes place off screen. The series has won praise in many national newspapers and even won an Emmy in 2013. youtube.com
8. One for Ten
Four campaigners travel the US talking to exonorees of death row. It’s based on the statistic that one in ten criminals awaiting execution are released, their convictions overturned having spent ten years on average in enforced isolation. This in-depth look at the flaws in the US legal system is also an interactive experience for viewers, who can put their questions to interviewees. oneforten.com
9. Big Night Out
In a relatively short space of time, Vice journalist Clive Martin (pictured right) has built a reputation as our most incisive commentator on contemporary youth culture. He steps in front of the camera for the first time for the Big Night Out video series in which he traverses the country in search of Britain’s dwindling music-based subcultures. Psytrance, hip-hop and gabber all get the Big Night Out treatment. vice.com
10. The Power Inside
The Power Inside is the latest sci-fi comedy from Intel and Toshiba following the Beauty Inside (2012) and Inside (2011), and like its predecessors, it is a rip-roaring success. Harvey Keitel plays a barber called upon to save the human race from an invading force of deadly moustaches. The Power Inside delicately walks the line between irony and heart. An unexpected treat. insidefilms.com