In a few hours, I’ll begin recording the first episode of The Wil Wheaton Project. We’ve been working on it for a very long time, and it is a surreal feeling to know that in about 30 hours, my stupid face is going to be a moderately big deal for twenty-one and a half minutes on a major cable network.
I have the same feeling I have before I publish a book, or after I wrap a TV show: I’ve done the best I can to make something I’m proud of, that I think other people will like, but it’s pretty much out of my hands the second we push the beautiful, shiny button … the jolly, candy-like button. Like everything I do as an artist, the best I can hope for is that I don’t get hit by lightning on my way out of the studio. Oh, and that the stuff I think is entertaining and informative lands on the audience the same way.
I know a lot of you reading this don’t subscribe to cable or satellite, and as far as I know, it will be online at Syfy.com and probably Hulu and Hulu+, but I’m not sure how soon after it airs. I also think it’s available as a subscription in iTunes. I know that, because of a number of factors that are completely out of my control, it’s only available in the United States. Totally unrelated to that, I wonder if any of you non-American viewers have ever heard of VPN services like unblock-us.
So I really want everyone in the world to see my show, because I’m super proud of it and I think a lot of you will enjoy it. If you have to use some possibly questionable means to see it, I’m not going to try to stop you. BUT — if you can watch it in some way that the network can score (on broadcast or via one of the legally-supported websites), please do that, because the more people who watch it in a way the network can count, the more likely it is they will order a full season of the show.
This is a big day for me. Thank you to everyone who has helped make it possible.
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Went to Hulu to check to see if I’d be able to watch it there and it says “We currently don’t have the rights to make this show available on your TV or mobile devices” 🙁
I clicked the link to have them notify me when/if it becomes available. Hopefully it won’t have to be a 30 day wait to watch it on Syfy.com. That would be lame.
Congrats man.
<leans into cockpit>
I just want to tell you good luck – we’re all counting on you.
<closes cockpit door>
DVR’s set to record.
Best of luck!
Good luck!
You’re my modern day superhero…..Captain Awesome!
Countdown: http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20140527T22&p0=217&msg=The+Wil+Wheaton+Project
Now with the correct time zone 😉 http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20140527T22&p0=263&msg=The+Wil+Wheaton+Project
I went through a blue phase a few weeks ago. I have read you and others saying that depression lies and while I knew I was blue, I still was thinking horrible thoughts and feeling really rotten about myself and my family around me. I don’t know what finally got better, but it did and now when I look back I don’t even know what triggered the blue spell in the first place.
What I am trying to say, much less eloquently than you would, is that I appreciate your honesty about depression. It helps me.
And good luck! I will force my family and friends to watch and I know it won’t be forcing them after they give it a few minutes! Can’t wait to watch!
I’m still waiting who is going to offer it online first. All the best from Croatia
I hate cable as much as the next geek who likes money, but my husband loves sports, so we have it. Thus, I watched live and will continue to do so. The wabbit is in your corner…oh, wait. I mean, the unicorn. I’m a unicorn!
So, I just saw the show using some shady streaming service, because I don’t live even remotely close to the US. I have a question for everybody who does live there: do you really have to pay money to watch SyFy and they still bombard you with 5 minutes of ads for like every 2 minutes of actual show? Or did I get something wrong and SyFy is actually free? All those ads were really weird for me, nothing at all like what I’m used to.
Anyway, the show itself was fine, some really good jokes in there, some that were not so good but I’d be willing to bet that future episodes are going to be even funnier, once you get your rhythm going.
I really liked the Vikings joke, probably because it was the only show featured that I actually watched before.
It’s not like I didn’t get the jokes about the other shows though and plenty of them were funny as well, so that’s a plus.
OMG Wil you’re alllll over the web today, congrats!!! I’m so happy for you!
Please please post on your blog when your show becomes available on Hulu+ or on Syfy.com, or the intarwebs at large. I won’t remember to go watch it unless you tell me, so please keep reminding us (and linking to the goods). Good luck!!!
While I do not have cable (I’m one of those pesky cord cutters.. and I’ve never been happier) I will have to resort to other means to view your show for now. Once I see it up for a subscription on iTunes, I will be all over it. Here’s to the start of an amazing series!! It will be cool once this series outlives ST:TNG (and it will).
Just watched the first show—-great fun, Will. Wish you the best, And , as a long time trekker (very longggggtime), I will forever be jealous for that one episode of Next Gen with the very young Ashley Judd. How did you remember your lines working with her? Whew!!!
Best of luck to you with your new show! (PS: What the hell is wrestling doing on a Sci Fi channel?!!!!)
Bah, Syfy Australia have said (2014-05-26 via their Facebook page) that they won’t be showing it. But it “might” be shown on another channel, one day (or year)
(Seriously, why do I pay for Syfy?)
Syfy in Australia is very ordinary, you would think they just play whatever they play in the USA but it is mostly just re-runs of shows that have been dead for a decade, or longer. They don’t even have the rights to SG1 past season 5 so just go from S5 back to S1 again.
I can confirm as of 5th June it is not available on Itunes via Australia and haven’t seen it on Hulu (via VPN) yet.
I think the various content providers have dropped the ball with global programming, rights and the mishandling of digital content, and they wonder why piracy is popular, there are fewer morons distributing pirated shows than there are running studios. It took 5 seconds to find a torrent, have spent two hours to try and find it legitimately with no luck.
I’ll be happy to acquire a legitimate copy as soon as one pops up somewhere.
Since you mentioned your problem with International distribution, I wonder if you might help conspire to get my favorite Canadian extreme geek steampunk surrealist detective show some sort of real distribution in the US. It’s called Murdoch Mysteries, and it’s actually very popular in Canada – but it can only be found on high end premium cable Ovation channel in the US under the super secret code name The Artful Detective. And that’s only the first 5 seasons, while the rest of the world is on Season 8. This show is sooooooooo cool, and it’s so underground hipster cult that you have to cross the Canadian border to watch it legally under it’s real name.
Anyway I think you’d grok the Tesla vibe, and your VPN comment shows you feel the pain of International Distribution Fail. Please Save the Children (Especially All Centaur Children!) by helping me smuggle this awesome show over the Canadian border.
Ps. SyFy never even replied to my letter begging them to carry it.
I love the show. Each episode has been right up my alley in terms of the writing and humour. Unfortunately I live in Hong Kong meaning I cannot support the show directly. I’ve written to SyFy asking them to put it up on iTunes (I have a US account) where I would gladly subscribe because I want the show to succeed. I mean THE SOUP is up there. I am not sure why SyFy would say no to potential money, even if they have to share a cut with Apple.