| Camera: | Single camera |
| Runtime: | ~3–15 min |
| Creator: | Lisa Kudrow |
| Director: | Don Roos |
| Starring: | Lisa Kudrow |
| Country: | United States |
| Network: | LStudio.com |
| Num Seasons: | 6 |
| Num Episodes: | 133 (List of episodes) |
| Related: | Web Therapy (TV series) |
Web Therapy is an improvised online series starring Lisa Kudrow as Fiona Wallice, a therapist who has conceived of a new form of therapy, the titular "web therapy". The series debuted on LStudio.com on September 22, 2008.
Fiona Wallice is a therapist who has conceived of a new "modality" of therapy: the titular "web therapy". In her estimation, the traditional "50-minute hour" version of therapy gives people too much leeway to talk about irrelevant things. By dramatically shortening session time, she hopes to get results more quickly. Her sessions take place via webcam over the internet using Skype.[1] They are taped in the hope of attracting investors into promoting her new technique as a worldwide therapy option.
A dark comedy, much of the humor revolves around Fiona's obvious self-interest and how it overshadows her legitimate ability to determine people's issues quickly and effectively. (For instance, in "Sibling Ribaldry," she manages to completely clarify a couple's romantic emotional issues in thirty seconds but does so only to bring them around so she can then film them discussing more trivial sexual issues that are more shocking.)
See main article: Web Therapy (TV series). In April 2010, Showtime announced plans to adapt the online episodes for broadcast on television with extra scenes being shot. The series premiered on Showtime on July 19, 2011, and ran for 10 episodes. In December 2011, Showtime renewed Web Therapy for a second season of 11 episodes, which premiered on July 2, 2012.[2] On November 16, 2012, Web Therapy was renewed for a 10 episode third season by Showtime.[3] On January 14, 2014, Showtime renewed Web Therapy for a fourth season,[4] that ran for 12 episodes. On August 11, 2015, Showtime cancelled the series after four seasons.[5]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Streamy Awards[6] | Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series | Lisa Kudrow | ||
| Webby Award[7] | Special Achievement: Outstanding Comedic Performance | ||||
| Best Writing | Series | rowspan=5 | |||
| 2010 | Streamy Awards[8] | Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series! | Lisa Kudrow | ||
| Best Guest Star in a Web Series | Courteney Cox | ||||
| Webby Award | Best Individual Performance | Lisa Kudrow | |||
| Best Writing | Series | ||||
| Comedy: Long Form or Series | rowspan=4 | ||||
| 2011 | Best Individual Performance! | Lisa Kudrow | |||
| Comedy: Long Form or Series | Series | ||||
| Banff World Media Festival[9] | Award of Excellence in Digital Media | Lisa Kudrow | |||
| 2012 | Emmy Award[10] | Outstanding Special Class-Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs | Web Therapy |
The series has featured appearances by a number of prominent comedians and actors including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bob Balaban, Rashida Jones, Selma Blair, Tim Bagley, Dan Bucatinsky, Jane Lynch, Molly Shannon, Lily Tomlin, Rosie O'Donnell, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, Alan Cumming, Natasha Bedingfield, Minnie Driver, Courteney Cox and Darren Criss. Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep guest starred in three special episodes that were made after the third series had been completed.[11] It was announced on the show's Facebook page that guest stars for the second series will include Selma Blair, David Schwimmer and Victor Garber.