Beyond the digital frontier: The journey and evolution of web series in Australia
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Early scholarship on web series often invoked a “wild west” analogy, so it seems apt to revisit that metaphor as we reflect on the medium’s thirty-year history. Web series creators were described as pioneers on the new and vastly expanding digital frontier. The internet was a revolution with an ensuing goldrush mentality. Yet the question of what constitutes “gold” for these creators varies widely. While commercialising short-form, episodic online content has largely failed – sometimes spectacularly – web series have consistently demonstrated value beyond financial returns. A small number achieve economic success, but most derive value from other parts of the value chain: industrial value (career opportunities for creators and crews, talent development for networks), cultural value (creative autonomy and experimentation in episodic storytelling), and social value (diversifying both stories and storytellers). Often born from frustration with industry gatekeeping, web series represent both creative rebellion and industrial renewal within the broader screen ecology. While existing scholarship has focused mainly on the US, this chapter expands on existing literature by tracing how web series have developed in Australia, revealing how they have challenged hierarchies, democratised production, and redefined success on their own terms.
Keywords
web series, digital media, screen production, creative industries, online storytelling, australian media
Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Publication Title
The Web Series Experiment
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Arts and Humanities
RAS ID
99622
ISBN
[9781041012405, 9781041012412, 9781003613862]
Copyright
subscription content
Content Type
Metadata only
First Page
11
Last Page
32
Recommended Citation
Ellingsen, S., & Monaghan, W. (2026). Beyond the digital frontier: The journey and evolution of web series in Australia. In S. Ellingsen, M. D. Ryan, & S. Turnbull (Eds.), The web series experiment (pp. 22–43). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003613862-2