Mortal Kombat, Static Shock, Critters and more digital series coming from new Warner Bros short-form studio

Ah, YouTube. It’s not just cats, music videos and people nearly killing themselves in unique ways; it’s also become home to bite-sized chunks of entertainment with world-wide exposure and the added benefit of ad revenue streams. Short, 10-minute long episodic content like Mortal Kombat Legacy: Season 1 and Season 2  and Street Fighter Assassin’s Fist (brought to you by E.Honda) have proven very popular among online viewers. And Warner Bros are now expanding into this market as well and have announced the creation of a new short-form digital content production unit, dubbed Blue Ribbon Content, as well as a full roster of live-action and animated series covering multiple genres including sci-fi, action, horror and comedy; with some serious talent behind them too. As per Sam Register, president of Warner Bros Animation and Digital series:

“We are tremendously excited about Blue Ribbon Content’s initial slate of development projects, and we are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such a talented group of writers and producers on projects that they feel exceptionally passionate about.”

Among the shows announced in their press release are the following:

• Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles (Machinima) — Animated short form series from Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett (producers of the legendary Batman: The Animated Series) will debut on Machinima in 2015. Based on Justice League: Gods & Monsters, an original animated film that will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment later in 2015.

• Untitled Mortal Kombat Series (distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) — An all-new series that showcases some of the franchise’s most storied characters, while introducing a new generation of fighters.

• Static Shock — Writer/producer/director Reginald Hudlin leads the creative team behind a live-action adaptation of Static Shock, featuring the super hero Static, aka Virgil Ovid Hawkins. Based on the Static comic published by DC Comics.

• Play It Again, Dick (CW Seed) — Co-written and executive produced by Veronica Mars creator/executive producer Rob Thomas for CW Seed, the digital-only studio of The CW Television Network. Play It Again, Dick stars Ryan Hansen as himself as he pleads with former Veronica Mars cast mates and friends to help him get his character, Dick Casablancas, a spinoff.

• RejecTED — Check out some of the lesser-known and just completely rejected speeches that the world never got to hear — until now — in this original satirical comedy.

• Ginger Snaps — Follow a troop of young girls as they backstab, manipulate and sabotage their way through the seedy underworld of the Ginger Snaps and preserve their power and influence at the top of the cookie pile.

• Golden Revenge — Two adorable house pets — a cat and dog — love their life with their owner. His new wife? Not so much. After receiving an “it’s me or the pets” ultimatum, the husband takes the cat and dog deep into the forest and leaves them behind. Now it’s up to the pets to find their way across the country — to exact their revenge!

• Ouroboros — Original horror/thriller from producer Akiva Goldsman (executive producer of the Paranormal Activity franchise) follows two police officers over the course of one night in a remote part of Wisconsin as they are overwhelmed by a series of mysterious attacks.

• Critters — Blue Ribbon revisits the world of the legendary New Line Cinema cult classic movie franchise, as a new batch of alien pests descends upon the planet in this new digital series written by Michael Jelenic & Aaron Horvath (Teen Titans Go!).

• Batman: The Animated Series Experience — Blue Ribbon, DC Entertainment and visual effects pioneer OTOY are teaming up on an immersive entertainment experience that will see the Batcave from Batman: The Animated Series brought to life via interactive holographic video for virtual reality devices such as the Samsung GALAXY Gear VR, the Oculus Rift, and on forthcoming “glasses-free” light field displays.

Those are really some interesting-looking shows. Darryn & Nick should be especially pleased as their preferences are definitely catered towards. How do you feel about short form shows like this? Are they something you’d watch?

Last Updated: October 22, 2014