Background: In 2009, original creator-led video was blossoming on YouTube. Creators were experimenting with the nascent platform and building communities. The landscape dared us to ask ourselves: how can we leverage creators to help modernize the Showtime brand?

Strategy: Find the best digital creators and bring them under the Showtime brand for a digital-original series.

Concept: Showtime SHORT stories: an original digital anthology series where the best creators of 2009 and 2010 created for Showtime. Under the simple prompt of “tell us a story that’s never been told before” we brought filmmakers, illustrators, stop motion artists, and humorists to the network in the Academy Award winning series.

Highlights: Identified as “Best of Web” in the New York Times 2/18/11 & an Academy Award nomination for PES “Fresh Guacamole”

Creators: PES, Cyriak, Michael Langan, Jeff Scher, Don Hertzfeldt, Mystery Guitar Man, and many more

Showtime Team: Erin Joyce, Trevor Noren, Diana Roach