Welcome to the Internet age, HBO. The premium-cable network is bolstering its slate of original programming by plugging into one of the Web's hottest content producers, FunnyOrDie.com.
HBO has purchased a small stake in the company--about $10 million, says The New York Times, less than 10 percent of the biz--and will in turn get 10 half-hour blocks of exclusive programming from the FunnyOrDie guys.
And those guys have a rich comedy pedigree. Among the partners in the company are Will Ferrell (Old School, Saturday Night Live), Adam McKay (writer, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), Chris Henchy (producer, Entourage), and Judd Apatow (producer, Superbad and every other successful comedy from the last few years).
FunnyOrDie features short video clips with cameos from Hollywood's hot stars, including Hayden Pannettiere, James Franco, and John C. Reilly. The first video from the outlet, titled "The Landlord," has netted more than 57 million views and featured McKay's 2-year-old daughter playing landlord and asking Ferrell for rent--while she was drinking beer and swearing up a storm.
Details on the HBO shows are still under wraps, and the producers aren't ruling out individual half hours or running series. In short, HBO is giving them full reign to run wild and do whatever they want to.
"We do know we want it to be in the same family of the comedy that we're doing on the website--just a wide range of anything from a funny offbeat talkshow to a maybe more-traditional-type sitcom to a show with puppets," Ferrell told Variety. "We don't want to limit ourselves in any way, which is what we love about the stuff that we do for Funny or Die."
Comments (12)
apswartz - No, you are not the only one who finds him unfunny.
this is just an awesome idea =D
actually, adam mckay's daughter is jeremy piven's niece. Mckay is married to piven's sister.
won't make me any more likely a subscriber to hbo. This is just hbo trying to come up with cheap ways to generate content. The hbo equivalent of a reality game show, really.
Am I the only one who finds Will unfunny. Yes, he was good in the Cowbell skit on SNL, but he has gone downhill since then!
I like it. I can't wait to see what they come up with.
Will Ferrell is whoring up Hollywood imho.
I really dislike Will Ferrel.
This should be interesting to see what makes it onto the TV, freakin love funny or die.
corrected!
Yeah it's Adam McKay's daughter Pearl
too bad that wasn't his daughter, it was actually jeremy piven's niece