Web series are quickly becoming the new critically acclaimed comedy shows we watch on network television. “High Maintenance” is a web series that was created as a hobby to showcase the life of a Brooklyn weed dealer. “High Maintenance” is a humane look at the drug dealer delivery culture that all NYC smokers know about. It showcases a warm and original look at the absolute craziness of living in New York City. The creators of the hit web comedy are husband and wife team Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair and the series has just been picked up by HBO for 6 more episodes. See a trailer for “High Maintenance” and see what Vimeos CEO had to say after the jump.
HBO will make all previous 19 episodes available on HBO Now, HBO Go, and HBO. Starting on YouTube then getting picked up by Vimeo last year “High Maintenance” is joining the likes of “Broad City”, “Drunk History”, and “Children’s Hospital” as web series turned successful cable comedies over night. “High Maintenance” sets itself apart from those however because it has been picked up by a premium cable provider like HBO and not a regular network cable provider. The only other web series to make that jump into premium cable is “Web Therapy” on Showtime. Vimeo’s CEO Kerry Trainor released an official statement saying “The pickup by HBO is incredible validation for the show as well as the global creative community developing and releasing innovative programming directly on Vimeo. The barriers between online and traditional distribution continue to erode”. Trainor is clearly excited about the premium cable deal because it helps Vimeo make a foray into the world of streaming original online programming like Netflix.
Source: Gizmodo
