Digital studio Eqal, the brains behind LonelyGirl15, Kate Modern, and LG15: The Resistance, has teamed up with CBS to create a new, multi-platform show called Harper's Island, which will premier online March 18 and on TV April 9. I discussed the role of interactivity in online video with Eqal CEO Miles Beckett in August, before the launch of LG15, and republished the interview today.
The online version of the show will have a different storyline that complements the television version, with overlapping characters and plots. Complementary web videos aren't totally new–Heroes and Chuck both do it, although Heroes doesn't have overlapping characters–but it seems like Eqal's web series will relate more directly to the TV version than has previously been attempted. We're looking forward to checking it out.
The premise for the show also sounds promising: A group of family and friends travel to a destination wedding on an island, and an unknown murderer among them kills someone off every episode. Gruesome. The whole secrets-and betrayal-on-an-island thing is a bit reminiscent of Lost, which sounds good to us.
–Kelsey Blodget, Associate Producer
