NBC unveils comedy streaming service with original series from Amy Poehler, Dan Harmon, and more
Last January, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt lamented the network’s decision to kill its long-running Thursday night comedy block, indicating that if he had one wish, it would either be for a Tesla or for comedy to someday return to NBC. He must have gotten the Tesla, because in March, NBC announced it was ditching the goal of returning comedy to the network and instead was launching a comedy-only streaming service. Today, Splitsider reports, NBC officially unveiled the service, and its goofy-ass name is Seeso.
According to Variety, Seeso will cost $3.99 per month and include ad-free programming from NBC’s comedic glory days, including 30 Rock, The Office, and other shows you can already watch on Netflix and Hulu. But the service will also launch exclusive titles like Monty Python’s Flying Circus as well as original series like Amy Poehler’s The UCB Show, an animated series from Community creator Dan Harmon, and a new show from former Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac. NBCUniversal executive Evan Shapiro says there should be about 20 original programs launched in the first year alone.
In addition to TV series and three to five movies each month, Seeso will host daily standup specials. According to Shapiro, NBC hopes to also livestream popular comedy events on Seeso see-soon. The service will officially launch in January 2016, so there’s still time to launch a Twitter campaign about changing that name.