Viacom’s MTVN Entertainment Group has re-launched popular online video site AtomFilms as Atom.com. The digital comedy network is dedicated to distributing original animated and live-action programming across the Internet, handheld devices, gaming platforms, mobile phones, television and other platforms. Among new properties joining the site are series from Adult Swim stars Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Tom Goes to the Mayor), and Scrubs scribe Ryan Levin and award-winning animator Nye Warburton.
Heidecker and Wareheim have created Steven & Stephen, a short-form series about two groin-conjoined, Internet-obsessed twins, while Levin and Warburton teamed to create Benny, Escaped Convict, which chronicles the exploits of a foul-mouthed rodent on the lam. In addition, Stickman Exodus from Waverly Films finds stick figures doodled by a bored high-school student in search of the “promised page” in the kid’s notebook, and Border Patrol from Josh Greenbaum, Ben McMillan and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) centers on three slacker friends who spend their weekends in lawn chairs at the Mexican border determined to stop illegal immigration. Border Patrol is the first Atom original to also get an on-air development deal with Comedy Central.
Other Atom.com properties in development include My Best Friend Is My Penis, starring Jon Togo (CSI Miami), topical pop culture videos from a stable of creators including Blame Society Prods. (Chad Vader), a gaming parody titled Legend of Neil and an urban legend comedy series dubbed Never Do This.
‘We want Atom.com to provoke, break rules and uncover talent much as COMEDY CENTRAL did at its inception on cable,” says Erik Flannigan, exec VP of digital media for MTVN Entertainment Group. “If we get this right, Atom.com will be our punk-rock label and help to bring fresh, provocative comedy to every screen our audience is watching.’
In addition to serving as Comedy Central’s exclusive digital comedy content partner and developing properties for television, Atom.com will provide creators of user-generated content an opportunity to get exposure, earn money and land development deals for the web and television. The revamped site features a streamlined upload system, social networking and content-sharing capabilities powered by MTVN’s Flux network, higher-quality video streaming and a Creator’s Kit offering dozens of royalty-free music beds, including contributions from Juno composer Matt Messina.
Comedy Central this week debuted a half-hour TV series titled Atom TV. The late-night program brings the best shorts and webisodes from Atom.com to the tube.
