"SNL"s Bill Hader, Seth Meyers launch online series
David
SNL Writers Launch Broadband Series
Saturday Night Live player Bill Hader wrote, stars in The Line; head
writer/Weekend Update co-anchor Seth Meyers directs; writer Simon Rich
helps to pen scripts.
By Alex Weprin
Broadway Video Entertainment, the production company of Saturday Night
Live creator Lorne Michaels, launched its first-ever broadband series.
The Line was created by and stars talent from SNL. SNL player Bill
Hader wrote and stars in the series, head writer/Weekend Update
co-anchor Seth Meyers directs and writer Simon Rich penned the scripts
with Hader.
The Line had a soft launch on Sony’s Crackle.com July 31, and it will
be added to other video sites, including Hulu, Heavy.com and YouTube,
beginning Tuesday.
The Line follows two friends as they wait in line -- for 11 days -- to
see the premiere of science-fiction movie Future Space.
The series came about during the writers’ strike, when writers and
stars on SNL were picketing and trying to crack each other up.
"Simon and I came up with the idea of making The Line after spending
days walking the picket line during the writers' strike and trading
downright hilarious stories about our experiences waiting on lines,
including the time I waited for 20 hours for The Phantom Menace,"
Hader said.