Lessons learned from ‘The L Word’

NewTeeVee’s Liz Gannes just returned from casting her vote judging the fiction category of the Interactive Emmy Awards, and she breaks down the five entrants including HBO’s Voyeur, NBC’s Heroes and ABC’s Lost. But Gannes reserved the most praise for Showtime’s The L Word. “It has cultivated the biggest social network for lesbians, OurChart, out of a plot line from the show,” she writes. “OurChart is actually a separate company put together by the show’s creators, where characters are present but fan community is abundant.” This is a terrific example of thinking beyond the confines of traditional TV: leveraging the show’s niche audience to launch a new online product that will outlive the TV show itself. Smart.