If you haven’t already heard I’m kind of obsessed with this web series called LEAP YEAR. It’s a hilarious office dramedy that follows five friends as they create their own start up company. LEAP YEAR perfectly personifies the Silicon Valley lifestyle, and is extremely relevant to today’s fad of taking life into your own hands.
With its great cast and great story LEAP YEAR has quickly become one of my new favorite web series, and I was fortunate enough to talk to the shows sensational creator Wilson Cleveland about everything from Eliza Dushku to where the show is heading.
Kate Asche Wilson (KAW): You said you’ve been making web series since 2006. What draws you to create series programming specifically for online consumers?
Wilson Cleveland (WC): I work for a PR/marketing firm called Prosek Partners and produce original series as marketing vehicles for clients to build target audiences around their messages and raise brand awareness. I created "The Temp Life," which many consider the web's first brand-sponsored original series in 2006 for real-life temp agency Spherion. Since then I've worked with the likes of Trident, IKEA, Hiscox, J&J to create, produce or promote shows.
KAW: DIY. Web series. VOD. How would you define you’re programming?
Wilson Cleveland
WC: There's always debate within web video circles about how we define the things we make. Some find the term "web series" reductive or somehow inaccurate because so many "web series" can be downloaded on iTunes, streamed via mobile or set-top boxes. Some believe "content is content no matter the screen it's on;" My go-to answer is I make "scripted series" or just "shows." Whatever term resonates best among those outside the web video bubble is what I usually go with.
KAW: What inspired you to create a web series that focused on the struggles of startup companies and the Silicon Valley lifestyle?
WC: We created and produce Leap Year as a marketing vehicle for Hiscox Insurance, which is a client of Prosek Partners. They were launching a new line of specialized small business insurance for startups and entrepreneurs and needed a breakthrough idea to cut through the saturated marketing landscape.
Hiscox needed to engender trust among the startup community and illustrate they understood their needs and could therefore be a worthy insurance partner. We decided the best method was to create a fictional series with characters and situations that closely-mirrored those of their potential customers, but was also watchable and entertaining to stand on its own.
KAW: How was LEAP YEAR received in Silicon Valley itself? Did you ever screen it there?
WC: Thankfully it's been received very well. It's crucial to maintain some semblance of reality and give the core audience occasional "winks" to demonstrate our credibility and understanding of the startup world.
One way we've done this is casting real-life startup founders and personalities like Alexis Ohanian from Reddit, Guy Kawasaki, Gary Vaynerchuk and Rachel Sklar in cameos. We also wrote a storyline this season where the C3D team is accepted into the real-life TechStars NY startup accelerator program. We have founders of super successful startups wanting to be on the show.
KAW: Explain Eliza Dushku’s role with LEAP YEAR.
Eliza Dushku
WC: Our writers Yuri and Vlad Baranovsky created a great character named June Pepper.
She's kind of this "hacker in heels"
who causes a lot of problems for the C3D team in season 2.
When I read it, I thought Eliza would be perfect. I'm a notorious 'Buffy' fan so getting to work with Eliza and Emma Caulfield was a fanboy dream come true. She also brought a lot to the table from a production and promotion standpoint so we gave her a consulting producer credit on her episodes.
KAW: LEAP YEAR was available across multiple platforms. Can you share what the viewership per episode was and who was the most effective online partner that you worked with?
WC: Each episode averaged approx 200k views across platforms. Each platform appeals to different audiences for different reasons. Similarly, each platform has its own unique benefits. Hulu is a closed, more exclusive network of mostly TV and TV-like series and has been a stellar mechanism for traditional TV audiences to discover Leap Year. YouTube is more of a catch-all than Hulu but it's a social platform by nature which allows us to better engage with viewers and offer a more interactive experience.
KAW: Whether on demand or another web series, what do you watch when you have some free time?
WC: I watch equal amounts of traditional TV and web shows. Thanks to my buddy Josh Malina I'm obsessed with 'Scandal.' I love 'Community,' '30 Rock, 'Parks and Rec' and I'm getting excited for 'Arrow' on the CW. Online I watch A LOT. Particularly my friend Shira Lazar's daily live news show "What's Trending," "What the Buck?! Show," "The Guild," Bryan Singer's show "H+" and a lot of shows on the Geek & Sundry and Nerdist YouTube channels. Also watch YouTubers like KassemG, Mystery Guitar Man and iJustine.
KAW: Dana Brunetti, (producer, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and Netflix’s “House of Cards”) said during a panel at the recent TechCrunch’s Disrupt Conference in San Francisco that web video will “destroy networks and conglomerates as we know it.” You’re creating web programming, what are your thoughts on his statement?
Sunil Rajaraman and Dana Brunetti (Scripped event at Talenthouse 2011. Photo courtesy of Malte Goesche)
WC: I suppose if Netflix paid $200 million for my first digital series, I'd be bullish on web video too.
With all due respect to Dana, the "House of Cards" deal
was inarguably a significant game changer,
but Trigger St. kinda rolled Yahtzee on their first try.
I don’t ever see web video "destroying" television, nor do I think all the time, money and posturing spent against fulfilling that scenario is productive. Web video may "hobble" TV a bit, give it a jog for its money but I prefer to see them as complementary, co-existing mediums.
KAW: All production budgets terms the same, would you produce your next series as you did with LEAP YEAR or with HBO if you had the choice?
WC: Does anyone say No to HBO?!
It depends whether or not the series is brand-backed. Every series I create or produce is backed by a brand which means there's usually some level of paid distribution involved. Television networks command exponentially higher ad rates than online networks and subscription cable nets like HBO don’t have much advertising if any. If a brand shells out hundreds of thousands of dollars on a show, they rightly expect to reap the marketing benefits of the brand association.
KAW: What is in store for LEAP YEAR after season 2?
WC: We're really hopeful Hiscox will pick us up for a third season. We have to find out how Andy Corvell will get his revenge on C3D!
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- Kate Asche Wilson
Kate Asche Wilson is a contributing writer to On Demand Weekly. She is a graduate from the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University where she received a BA in Screenwriting. In her spare time Kate likes to take long walks on the beach, and watch telenovelas. Follow her on Twitter @KATEDOESLIFE
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