By: Stephanie Robbins
The CW’s seed has grown a full-blown television series. Backpackers, an online series from the network’s digital studio CW Seed, has been ordered for 10 episodes to air on the network this summer.
The half-hour series marks the first time CW’s online division’s programming has transitioned to prime-time. The first four episodes will contain material from previous CW Seed episodes, with the latter six being solely produced for the network. An air date and time will be announced soon.
“Since launching last year, one of our missions for CW Seed was for it to serve as an incubator for new talent and new ideas,” Rick Haskins, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital Programs, The CW, said in a statement.
According to the network’s description of the show: Best friends Ryan (Noah Reid,Titanic) and Brandon (Dillon Casey, Nikita) race across Europe in search of Ryan’s missing bride-to-be, while also struggling with the eternal twenty-something question of what to do with their lives. When Ryan’s lost journal suddenly gets posted online and explodes across the internet, Ryan’s life dream of becoming a published author becomes real – if only he can track down the jerk who stole the journal. With Brandon’s slacker brother Andrew (Giacomo Gianniotti, Reign) in tow, they travel from Thailand to Canada in search of the missing journal, while also seeking the ultimate answers to life, love and partying.
In conjunction with Backpackers‘ on-air debut, CW Seed will launch digital reality seriesThe Real Backpackers. In the supplemental online series, a guide will travel to the same locations as the fictional counterparts in the TV series to find the best places to eat, drink, and party.