Web series like The Guild?
January 3, 2014 7:40 PM   Subscribe

I really enjoyed the web series The Guild. Are there similar web series that I would enjoy, based on this (rather sparse) criteria?
posted by SpacemanStix to Computers & Internet (12 answers total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Sooooooooo I make a webseries which is somewhat similar to The Guild. I won't link to that, but I have watched A LOT of webseries that fall into a "guild-esque" criteria.

I'd recommend:

Space Janitors. Comedy based on janitors aboard a Death Star-esque space station. Also geekery related, similar narrative style and scope to The Guild (and it's also distributed through Felicia Day's Geek And Sundry youtube channel).

Top Decking. Comedy based on the employees of a Magic/Pokemon type card store. So, geeky and funny and sort of similar gender related themes.

I'm sure I'll think of a ton more (it's been a little while since I was doing the baseline research for my own series), but those are two that immediately come to mind.

If you're interested in getting out of the narrative zone, seriously check out any of the Geek And Sundry web series and vlogs. Of note is TableTop, which is a gameshow style webseries where Wil Wheaton plays board games with a selection of geek-adjacent "celebrities" (I put that in quotes because we're talking about minor Mad Men cast members and the NASA dude with the mohawk).

You might also like a lot of the content over at Geek And Sundry's sorta competitor youtube channel, Nerdist. Machinima is also a total no-brainer.

I'm also not sure if you're specifically looking for geek/nerd/fandom oriented stuff, or whether there's some other criteria of "Like The Guild" you're looking for. I could recommend a ton more "interesting comedic web series", but I don't know if they're like The Guild in the way you're looking for.
posted by Sara C. at 8:06 PM on January 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Great!, I'll definitely check those out.

I'm also not sure if you're specifically looking for geek/nerd/fandom oriented stuff, or whether there's some other criteria of "Like The Guild" you're looking for. I could recommend a ton more "interesting comedic web series", but I don't know if they're like The Guild in the way you're looking for.

I like the subject matter, but I don't think it's what makes me like the show. I think it's the characters and the fact that you can find them endearing (despite such obvious social deficiencies at times) in such a relatively short time frame. Feel free to share more that you think are interesting for whatever reason.
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:10 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: Shelf Life. Think Toy Story bred with South Park. (For obvious reasons it is very much NSFW, mostly for language.)

Bonus points if you're familiar with the Los Angeles pool of voice actors that work in anime and video games.
posted by Yoshi Ayarane at 8:13 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: It's frequently fairly crude humor, but if you have Zelda nostalgia there's the Legend of Neil. Gamer slob gets sucked into the world of Zelda. The musical episode in season 2 is hilarious. (Oh yeah and it has Felicia Day if that matters.)
posted by Wretch729 at 8:39 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: If things like The Lizzie Bennet diaries are on the table, I've got to recommend anything done by Periods Films. They tend to do more stand-alone video pieces rather than formal web series, but every single video they put out is hilarious. And they really do nail the historical/literary characters.
posted by Sara C. at 8:47 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: For example, I offer you:

Lil Women.
posted by Sara C. at 8:49 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: I like the subject matter, but I don't think it's what makes me like the show. I think it's the characters and the fact that you can find them endearing (despite such obvious social deficiencies at times) in such a relatively short time frame. Feel free to share more that you think are interesting for whatever reason.

I will give this is a stab because this is why I love the Guild since the first episode and I followed it through 5 seasons. I will say a bit more in case this speaks to you, OP, as to why I like the Guild and will recommend another series but in particular, I like how the main character is a bit anxious/neurotic and in a way, I can relate to that part of the character.

So the series that I will recommend (and found via metafilter) is: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

The main character in this series is also anxious/neurotic (awkward) and some of her friends are, too. Her workplace has other characters that are collectively odd, yet you grow to enjoy them. There is a series 2 if you like series 1.

Closely following this thread because I have tried many, many webisodes and most leave me as "meh" and I can't continue onwards.
posted by Wolfster at 9:01 PM on January 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Here are the winners and runners-up of the Streamy Awards, which might provide some good leads. Check the previous 2 years as well.

You never really know with awards; sometimes they're more insider-y or their electors are unrepresentative of, well, you. I can't speak either way on the Streamies.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:31 PM on January 3, 2014


Best answer: Video Game High School is a geeky teen drama that's not afraid to let its trope flag fly. Produced by Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch, two guys who are good at visual effects and short films, usually action/comedy, usually video game-based.

VGHS is a Boarding School that promotes gaming acumen and offers classes and competition in all the major genres: streetracing, simulation, real-time strategy, and, for all the real rockstars of teh school: First-person shooter.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:36 PM on January 3, 2014


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. This will keep me busy for awhile and provide some great leads.
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:21 AM on January 4, 2014


Best answer: It's a young movie and so it's still in the festival circuit and not easy to come by, but you may also enjoy "Zero Charisma," about a old-school role-playing gamer and his encounter with the changes in gaming culture.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:58 AM on January 4, 2014


Dr Horrible's sing along blog? Not long enough (WHEDON! get ON THIS!) but the ~30 min of it is spectacular.
posted by Jacen at 9:12 PM on January 4, 2014


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