Help Chart the Course of Current TV’s Bar Karma

For the first time ever, the groundbreaking format used to produce “Bar Karma” gives the viewing public the opportunity to inform the plots, characters, and overall development of this new, original series before they air via Wright’s innovative, easy-to-use Storymaker application (online at Current.com), which will also be accessible via a new iPhone App launching this week.

The 12-episode series, which will be shot in the New York area, stars William Sanderson (“True Blood,” “Lost,” “Deadwood”), Matthew Humphreys (“Obsessed,” “Big Love,” “The Forgotten”), and Cassie Howarth (“Deranged High,” “Deathclock”). The series tackles infinite possibilities surrounding the scenario: “A guy (or gal) walks into a bar…”

As part of the build-up to the show’s February 11 premiere, Current TV will air the 30-minute behind-the-scenes special “TV You Control: Bar Karma” on Thursday, January 20, 2011, at 8:00 pm ET. Series star Matthew Humphreys will lead an exclusive tour of how viewers can participate in the community developed sci-fi drama as members of Creation Studios, including in-depth interviews with the show’s cast and creators.

“Involving the online community as a credited member of the production staff is exciting, groundbreaking, and terrifying at the same time. It requires that we, like the patrons of the fictional bar the show is set in, live with a certain amount of uncertainty. We hope viewers and the online community will be as thrilled as we are about the opportunity to work together in this unprecedented way,” notes Hecht.

“’Bar Karma’ is the first program to provide fans with an opportunity to drive the story and shape it before a show hits the air. This is taking viewer engagement to an entirely new level,” said Wright. “To be able to engage viewers at this level of the creative process opens up a tremendous spectrum of opportunities as the television and online communities continue to intersect.”

For the past month the global online community has been participating in the creation of “Bar Karma” by logging on at Creation Studios or through social networking sites including “Bar Karma” on Facebook and “Bar Karma” on Twitter, providing extensive input for both creative and technical aspects of the show. A free iPhone App, launching this week, is another platform for fans to contribute to the show’s development.

Viewers will be asked to drive everything from initial storylines to art direction and even the show’s advertiser integrations. If their submissions are used, that viewer’s name will be on the credit roll at the end of the show. The process will continue throughout the series. Each week producers will select top storylines developed by the community for an upcoming episode and put it to a vote. Once a final storyboard is selected by the community at large, the producers will adapt, shoot, produce, and edit the winning storyline into a 30-minute episode.