Vimeo has struck a deal with the husband-and-wife team Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair to finance the next six episodes of their popular online comedy High Maintenance, the first original content project the video platform will make available later this year to its 26 million registered members and estimated 170 global viewers. The NSFW web series about a hapless but likeable pot dealer and the interactions with his city-dwelling customers features Sinclair in the title role.
Blichfeld, a former casting director on 30 Rock, and Sinclair, an actor and editor, developed the first 13 episodes of High Maintenance with Regarding Entertainment's Russell Gregory, and launched it with Janky Clown Productions on Vimeo last year. Vimeo has not set a debut date or pricing structure yet for the new episodes, but promises to bring the quirky, cameo-studded show to the next level. "We're elated to be working directly with Vimeo to make our series with the creative control a television network would never afford us," said Blichfeld and Sinclair in a prepared statement. The first 13 episodes are available for viewing on Vimeo for free.
Vimeo has pledged an initial $10 million investment to license content for distribution on Vimeo On Demand from those like the High Maintenance series creators.
Vimeo: www.vimeo.com
