‘It’s M*A*S*H Meets Microsoft!’

Until now, the Internet has remained televisual terra incognita, with nary a Seinfeld subplot devoted to hyperlinks, IPOs, or online porn. “A comedy-drama like Sports Night, set in a Silicon Valley start-up, could be fascinating,” says Karen Southwick, managing editor of the tech-focused Forbes ASAP. “I don’t know why nobody has done it yet.” Especially because last year, Southwick sent out a pitch for just such a dramedy, loosely based on her book Silicon Gold Rush. “I didn’t really hear anything back,” she admits. The filmmakers behind The Blair Witch Project have had less trouble launching their Web-themed show, tentatively titled Fearsum, having received a pilot commitment from Fox. The network won’t comment on projects in development, but according to an industry insider, the show will be an X-Files-esque chiller “about people who run an Internet site and explore the supernatural.” Also in development with Fox is 451, which, its creators brag, will break ground as the world’s first Internet sitcom and the first-ever teen workplace comedy. “It’s about four teenagers who run a Website that’s sort of an online gathering spot,” says John Landgraf, president of Jersey Television, the Danny DeVito-owned company producing the show. “It’s about the culture of the Internet – they’re not trying to do an IPO.” Sure they’re not.

‘It’s M*A*S*H Meets Microsoft!’