The list of streaming platforms and new programming continues to grow, and the good news is the latest of the former is free! The Network, an ad-supported premium streaming platform, officially launched on Tuesday, April 30.
It “seeks to declutter the streaming experience, eliminating audiences’ endless scrolling to find appealing series and films” and is “built on the principle ‘Always Originals, Always Free.’” The platform was created by Aram Rappaport, founder of the creative ad agency The Boathouse with backing from BH Media Holdings, and will be available on all devices across Apple, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire, and the web.
The Network will release two originals at a time: dramas on Tuesdays and comedies on Thursdays. With the launch on Tuesday, it released the first two episodes of the drama The Green Veil and the comedy Chivalry.
The Network
The Green Veil is an eight-episode drama/thriller/sci-fi series from executive producers John Leguizamo (who also stars, in his first-ever leading role in a TV series) and Rappaport. The series follows a government agent in the 1950s tasked with an unraveling secret mission that threatens to expose deeper secrets. Leguizamo plays Gordon Rogers, an immigrant who came to the US as a child and dedicated his life to achieving the American Dream. He experiences both an insidious obsession with that dream and the societal limitations it places upon certain groups.
The Green Veil‘s cast also includes Hani Furstenberg, John Ortiz, Irene Bedard, and Isabelle Poloner. Co-executive producers Irene Bedard and Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut) serve as creative and Native American consultants on the series.
Chivalry, which has already received rave reviews in the UK, makes its U. S. debut. The comedy, from Baby Cow Productions’ executive producers Sarah Monteith and Rupert Majendie and written, created by and starring Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani, explores the nuances, advances, and limitations of the entertainment industry. In this post #MeToo era, a critically acclaimed female director is brought on to right the ship of a wayward production run by a seasoned male producer.
The series also stars Wanda Sykes and Sienna Miller. It was commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK and produced by Baby Cow Productions, a BBC Studios-owned production label, with BBC Studios handling global distribution.
The Network
“The Network is providing a solution for consumers that feel overwhelmed by the excess of unnecessary content,” said founder Aram Rappaport. “The service is an opportunity to bring a curated catalog to U.S. audiences who want to eliminate the scrolling fatigue of subscription services. We are not justifying monthly fees by holding droves of content consumers get lost in. In fact, we never want you to search our platform, let us come to you. When there’s a new show launching – we’ll let you know.”
According to the company, “contending that U.S. audiences truly ‘love’ only two pieces of content on any given streaming platform, the service will deliver two new offerings at a time, nothing more.” It is not going to license catalogs of old content or build a library of filler to justify monthly subscription fees.
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