Like everybody who remembers the comedy streaming platform Seeso, my main memory is that it kinda came and went and I didn't think much about it. But based on this oral history of it, it looks like we all missed out on some great British comedy:
The Seeso thesis banked on viewers being attracted to its library: Universal-owned comedies like Fletch, late-night shows, SNL, Saved by the Bell, and every British comedy show you’ve (n)ever heard of.
Shapiro had worked with Monty Python on a documentary for IFC in 2009 and, years later, was able to convince their reps to let Seeso digitize, remix, and remaster nearly all Python contentThe Python content available on Seeso included Flying Circus, The Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life,and three specials: Parrot Sketch Not Included: 20 Years Of Monty Python; The Meaning of Monty Python; and Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. for online consumption for the first time. That acquisition was part of a larger strategy to attract fans of British comedies not widely available in the U.S.
Jumping from Python, I went for all things Mighty Boosh. It just felt totally like those things are very similar to each other. So now, what shows have Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt and Rich Fulcher done? Why don’t we acquire these things?
They had all of Alan Partridge, including super obscure stuff. They had a lot of British comedy that you can’t get anywhere.
Just looking at his whiteboard above, I see a few shows I love: Alan Partridge, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong, Fawlty Towers, Flowers, Blackadder...been waiting years to be able to find Trollied...
PS - get thee NOW to watch the 6-part Monty Python doc the guy Shapiro worked on, it is stupendous!!!
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