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MIKE REYNOLDS
In a keystroke of convergence across The Pond, BBC America is importing Attachments, a drama about a group of twentysomethings working at a dot-com startup.
In tandem, viewers/users can see the fruits of the company's labor on a companion Web site that will enhance and explicate the series' plotlines.
The 10-episode series, airing on BBCTWO, will premiere in the States Jan. 11. Centering on a group building an edgy, music-oriented dot-com business called seethru, the companion Web site, bbcamerica.com /seethru, offers content mirroring and expanding developments on the show.
BBC America officials claim this is the first convergent drama to unfold simultaneously on air and online.
"When people go to Web sites supporting dramas, they'll typically find episode synopses or character profiles," says Liz Barron, VP-programming at BBC America. "With Attachments, viewers/ users get more complex materials in real time on the Web site that extend what's happening on the show. Viewers/users can enjoy the program or the site on their own, but they get a more enhanced experience by engaging both."
For instance, as the company moves toward developing advertising as a revenue stream, classified ads can be found on the Web site. After an ad manager is hired, banner ads then start appearing on the site.
Similarly, one of the drama's storylines involves a worker answering a personal ad. It is then decided she should recount her experiences on seethru.
"On screen, you see her beginning to file the story, but you can only find out what happened on her date by going online," explains Barron.
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