That original online video programming would continue to surge in prevalence, to compete on an ever-more even footing with network and cable television, has been widely predicted for several years now. And even though 2012 is just a mere handful of days down, it looks as if it’s already shaping up to be the annum in which that prediction hardens into something approaching solid fact.   

This year has already seen Netflix unveil its first original show, culture-clash comedy-drama Lilyhammer, starring Sopranos actor and Springsteen sidekick Steven Van Zandt. Meanwhile, also in its pipeline are a US refit of BBC political drama House of Cards, due to star Kevin Spacey, and the much-anticipated new series of Arrested Development, which is due to begin airing sometime in 2013.    

Determined not to be left behind, internet behemoth Yahoo! is shoehorning in on the online video action too, via a just-announced collaboration with Hollywood’s Mr. Aw Shucks himself, Tom Hanks, who is on something of a comeback trail after the Forrest Dump of a disaster that was his self-penned, self-directed and self-starring Larry Crowne.   

The project which has yielded this Hanks and Yahoo! marriage is an animated science fiction show entitled Electric City, which has apparently been created by the actor. It is billed as being interactive, although Yahoo!’s own publicity would seem to indicate that this ‘immersive’ element doesn’t extend much further than the typical branded social media channels and the kind of additional content which is de rigueur for any entertainment product these days.   

So what is Electric City all about? Well, apparently the world as we know and barely tolerate it has ended. Bit of a bummer, eh? However! In its stead has arisen the titular Electric City, a ‘functioning, yet dystopian metropolis’. Sigh. Cut to the chase. What does this all actually mean for we ordinary online video user-type persons? ‘Short-form connecting storylines combined with vivid animation [that] will keep audiences watching.’   

No word on when the show will see the light of day, so until then content yourself with a fond look back at this skeleton from the Hanks’ closet.

Interested in web video? Then keep up to date with the latest developments via our blog.