Weekend Vid Picks: What Will ‘Remote-Free TV’ Look Like?

This week, Fox announced plans at the upfronts to emphasize “Remote-Free TV” — which Chris redubbed “More-like-the-Web TV”. But, since the only commercials I really tolerate anymore are online video pre-rolls, perhaps TV trying to more closely emulate the web with its advertising schemes is a smart move.

But what is this possible future of TV going to look like? And why these two particular shows? JJ Abrams’ Fringe has been described in releases as “female FBI agent investigates strange events” (wow, there’s an original premise) but the actual trailer does promise a fresh spin on the strange events Agent Scully — wait, sorry, Agent Dunham — will be investigating. (Plus, Joshua Jackson!)

Meanwhile, the trailer for Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse runs 2:27 minutes, which is just barely enough time to explain the show’s concept (“there are these people who don’t have identities, but clients of this secret facility can implant personas and make them do whatever they want, and something Evil may be at the heart of it and also there’s this FBI agent investigating…”). But the trailer does also tease the show’s potential as a sexy action powerhouse (click screenshot to view):

What’s the common thread? Pretty boys and girls, neck-deep in oddity, created by men with established track records as creators of shows guaranteed to appeal to young, tech-savvy audiences. In short, the exact same audience that would be watching online anyways. Pushing this crowd to a more web-oriented format isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but does show an uncanny understanding that for TV and online to exist, some changes have to come. And if Fox’s new strategy is the future of TV — the future’s gonna be fanboy heaven.