Webseries. Short (5 to 10 minutes) shows which distribute their episodes online. The only two shows I’m aware of that have succeeded in this developing field are “Sanctuary” which transformed into a full fledged television show now airing on Syfy (along with a slew of other networks) and “The Guild” which now airs its episodes on XBox Live and MSN. There may be more but none are as successful as these originals but that’s not stopping the big studios (or at least one big studio) from trying to maximize on the changing tide of their viewers.

Paramount Digital Entertainment is behind “Circle of Eight,” a paranormal web series currently playing on MySpace. Their official synopsis is akin to a mildly interesting movie: it’s the story of Jessica, a young woman who moves to Los Angles and a building known as The Dante. When a number of deaths start occurring in the building, she teams up with her neighbour Evan to solve the mysterious deaths.

The show’s plan is for 10 episodes to unravel the mystery but the selling point is the show’s interactive component with including hidden clues, mobile content, an online game and exclusive material that builds the back story of the characters and their relationships and gives the audience the chance to affect their futures.

The first three episodes are now online and I’ve obviously not watched them closely enough because I’ve yet to see the interactive component at play. It’s still early going but it shows promise. I’ve tucked the first three episodes under the seat. If you’re interested in checking out future updates, the easiest way to track this sucker is by subscribing to their MySpace channel.