The CW is looking to its digital studio CW Seed for comedy.
The youth-skewing network has ordered online comedy Backpackers to series, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The CW will reconstitute the online episodes into the first four half-hours, with six more web installments filmed but yet to be streamed. The network has ordered 10 half-hour episodes.
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This marks the first time an online series produced by the broadcast network's digital studio will make the transition. Backpackers, which stars Dillon Casey and Noah Reid as two friends backpacking across Europe after one of them is dumped by their girlfriend, will air in the summer.
The Backpackers pickup comes as The CW has slowly been pushing into original scripted comedy fare. The network revived unscripted entry Whose Line Is It Anyway last year and found success with the Aisha Tyler-hosted half-hour. Network president Mark Pedowitz has repeatedly said if that series was successful, he would use it as a building block for a comedy lineup. The network renewed it for a supersized second run -- up 10 episodes to 24 -- and moved it to the summer.
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As part of its comedy foray, The CW ordered Canadian sperm donor comedy Seed-- not to be confused with the network's digital studio. The network has yet to announce a formal premiere date for the comedy from Entertainment One, but noted it could air the series either as a midseason replacement or in the summer.
For its part,Backpackers - produced by Smokebomb Entertainment -- the digital arm of Shaftesbury Films, is also a Canadian entry, which aired locally. Star Casey nabbed a Canadian Screen Award nom for his performance.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
