Episodes of the new Internet drama "Prom Queen" will make their exclusive debut Sunday on News Corp.'s MySpace social-networking site, the company said Thursday.
The deal gives the new teen series access to a huge audience from the start, rather than having to build fans by word of mouth or other means -- the way many previous Web shows such as "Lonelygirl15" have done.
"Prom Queen" is the first show to be produced by a new studio formed by former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner. It will consist of 80 episodes, each lasting 90 seconds.
Each episode will appear during a 12-hour window on MySpace before showing elsewhere, including on its own dedicated Web site.
Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
Each of the show's characters will have their own profile pages on MySpace. Fans can post messages and get responses from the characters, who will also reveal more of themselves by posting items on their blogs. MySpace users will also be able to post the episodes on their own profile pages.
The added level of interactivity is similar to the way "Lonelygirl15," a pioneer in the area, has allowed fans to interact with characters and even influence the story line.
"It's the `The O.C.' meets `Lonelygirl' with a MySpace twist," Jeff Berman, MySpace's general manager of video, said of "Prom Queen."
MySpace has become a destination for Web video and plans to expand that role with other partnerships, Berman said.
"Prom Queen" is the creation of the same team of writers behind the popular scripted Web show "Sam Has 7 Friends."
