MUMBAI: Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Simon Rich have created and will star in The Line, an original new comedy web series making its debut on Crackle.com. Produced by Broadway Video, the series was directed by Meyers, who has been a regular on SNL for eight years.
The seven-episode series features two friends, Josh (Hader) and Duffy (Joe Lo Truglio – Superbad), as they score the coveted first spot in line outside of a movie theater, 11 days prior to the world premiere of one of the summer’s most highly anticipated films, Future Space.
The comedy webisodes are sponsored by Sony Pictures, which owns Crackle.com. Since The Line takes place outside a movie theater, the studio has taken advantage of the environment and integrated three real-life Columbia Pictures releases, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, and The House Bunny, into the webisodes.
The three films are incorporated into the series through organic character integrations and film poster and T-shirt placements. Hader and Lo Truglio both also co-star in the upcoming comedy, Pineapple Express.
"This integrated marketing opportunity with The Line feels like the most organic user experience that I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s always exciting to see a completely unique approach to sponsorship and for me, it was an easy decision to get involved with these incredibly funny and talented guys. The project is so clever and will certainly resonate with our target audiences," said Columbia TriStar Marketing Group executive vice president of worldwide digital marketing strategy Dwight Caines.
“Bill Hader, Simon Rich and Seth Meyers have created a hysterical new series that taps into the unique comedic sensibility they showcase week-to-week on SNL. The Line is content that we’re thrilled to debut on Crackle,” said Sony Pictures Television senior executive vice president Sean Carey.
The Line includes guest appearances by Jason Sudeikis (SNL), Paul Scheer (30 Rock), and Liz Cackowski (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The original web series was produced by Broadway Video, in association with NBC Universal, and was written by Hader and Rich. Creative Artists Agency orchestrated the deal on behalf of Broadway Video.
