There was a great article in this Sunday’s Washington Post Arts & Style section entitled “Cutting-edge TV? It’s not on cable.” The article talks about how online video continues to grow into longer, more engaging, higher-quality shows. It also highlights some of the relative merits of creating an online show, like the ability to be more topical or more niche than traditional television. I read these types of articles because I follow activity in the online video space, and I truly enjoy the ones that showcase new or unique content. This article is great because it lists 9 great web shows and their concepts, but the really fantastic part is that the top two shows are .tv sites!

The first show is called EasytoAssemble.tv and stars Illeana Douglas and Justine Bateman (you may remember Bateman from the 80′s sitcom “Family Ties”) as out of work actors who get jobs at Ikea.  I’d recommend skipping the pilot and going right into the first show – overall, the series has sort of a “Curb your Enthusiasm” vibe.

The second show is called Compulsions.tv – this one is similar to Showtime’s “Dexter”, but in my personal opinion much better. I watched the first episode of Dexter when it was first aired, and it failed to do in 60 minutes what Compulsions.tv did in 5 minutes – grab my interest.

Check out the full list, and maybe you’ll discover a new favorite show.