Photo: Emily Ibarra
Geek & Sundry Lineup
The Flog
Felicia Day's vlog (get it?) explores geek hobbies with stars and fans.
New episodes every Monday.
The Guild
Season 5 of Felicia Day's flagship show about unhinged gamer geeks.
Episodes every Tuesday.
Dark Horse Motion Comics
Indie publisher's animated showcase.
New episodes every Wednesday.
TableTop
Wil Wheaton tackles games with famous geeks.
New episodes every other Friday.
Sword & Laser
Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt nerd out on sci-fi and fantasy books.
Premieres Apr. 13; new episodes every other Friday.
Written By A Kid
Rhett & Link and others bring youngsters' imaginative tales to life.
New episodes every Wednesday (starts July 18).
Learning Town
Paul & Storm's indie sketch musical.
Launches this fall.
Felicia Day is a rare media force blessed with brains, beauty and an amazing gift for attracting fans as well as creative partners in crime.
Now she's cementing her status as an internet media mogul with Geek & Sundry, her new YouTube channel that serves up a multiseries geek-out with a little help from her friends.
"We're not trying to make television," the prescient geek goddess Day told Wired in an e-mail. "We're trying to make web shows on steroids. Anything to build community, that's on our agenda."
For all Day's prodigious talents – she's an accomplished violinist who passed up Julliard, a math geek who became a National Merit Scholar, and the valedictorian of her graduating class – her boundless knack for community building has set her apart from the rest of Generation Xbox.
She parleyed engaging roles in fandom-igniting productions like Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog into her stunningly hilarious web series The Guild.
The multiplatform success and longevity of that rapid-fire gamer satire, itself a love letter to oddball communing, has positioned Day as a creative force to be reckoned with, in any medium.
But all of this hasn't gone to her adorably level head. Yet.
"No, I haven't gotten to the point where we have papier-mâché busts of me in our lobby," Day wisecracked.
Geek & Sundry's YouTube lineup, which features six new shows as well as Season 5 of The Guild, cleverly compounds Day's increasing cultural momentum.
It brings Day together with like-minded geek celebs including Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton, w00tstock musical phenoms Paul and Storm and others launching programs Day executive-produced with pals Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant. (Preview Geek & Sundry's lineup in our image gallery above and trailers below.)
Geek & Sundry's slate could expand next year, if Day and company's collective fandom is suitably energized and extended by new-found evangelists.
Wired discusses Geek & Sundry's unique online experiment, her Google+ book club Vaginal Fantasy, future plans for The Guild and Dr. Horrible and more with the amiable Day below.
Wired: Now you have your own YouTube channel. Have you gone power-mad yet?
Felicia Day: We actually don't even have a real office still, so I'm not power-mad yet, no. I am pretty thrilled that we've been able to build this whole network from scratch in five months, though. Can I say it's going pretty well? Oh, now I jinxed it.
Wired: What do you think Geek & Sundry says about the power of technological innovation, digital distribution, fandom and creative production outside traditional media power centers?
Day: I think web video is finally reaching a tipping point this year for sure. People are getting used to consuming video on all of their devices, and they want it whenever they feel like watching it. Appointment viewing is rapidly disappearing.
Wired: And with it, so too disappears network loyalty.
Day: People don't care about what network the show they like is on, and they expect more from entertainment than just passive consumption. That's why we designed our slate like we did.
Wired: Having a channel on YouTube opens social networking doors that traditional networks seem still too afraid to open.
Day: To really be a network that maximizes what it means to be a show on the web and not on television, we're aiming to give a social experience to each of these videos. So you're not meant to just watch one of the Sword and Laser shows, you're meant to pick up the book, read along and contribute to the discussion. TableTop is meant to inspire more hobby gaming. Dark Horse Motion Comics are meant to encourage comic reading.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/kVKQ3VgGN3o
Wired: What can you tell us to watch out for in your lineup? Does a rage-faced Wheaton overturn the table in TableTop?
Day: We have a huge surprise video on April 2, so look for that as a launch treat. I have to say that TableTop has some awesomely funny episodes and guests. Look out for The Big Bang Theory creator Bill Prady! And I dare you to not buy some board games after watching TableTop. Become addicted to Ticket to Ride and destroy your productivity like I did!
Wired: What's the coolest thing you did in The Flog?
Day: That's a hard one. Probably a tie between real-life blacksmithing, which is my first episode, and another video involving an electric violin, a tiny trumpet and a 2-foot wig. You'll have to wait for more details.
Wired: It's just getting started, but Geek & Sundry seems like it's the beginning of something bigger. Do you have any plans for what's next if all goes well?
Day: It would be amazing to expand Geek & Sundry beyond what it is now. Our six shows plus The Guild library make up the full slate for the year that we have planned now. But if we find enough audience and community quickly enough, I wouldn't rule out adding more to the lineup as the year goes on, or at least for our second year. I'm hoping we get renewed.
Wired: Can you please explain Vaginal Fantasy to the noobs? I'm afraid of accidentally crashing into double entendre.
Day: Vaginal Fantasy is my very tongue-in-cheek name for a paranormal-romance book club I do on Google+ hangouts once a month. It's my hobby video project where I celebrate all the awesomely smutty books I enjoy with my friends.
Wired: Speaking of projects, we're geeked on a Dr. Horrible sequel. Any news to report?
Day: Dr. Horrible is something I have no information on, but I'm thrilled that there have been more rumors about it. I'm crossing my fingers that this is the year that it happens!
Wired: Finally, your brilliantly deranged Knights of Good. A sixth season this year would rule.
Day: Season 6 of The Guild is No. 1 on my agenda after Geek & Sundry's channel launch. The where and how is still to-be-discussed. But as soon as I get a breath, I'm gung ho!
