Online TV

Hulu isn't gonna know what hit them now that YouTube has launched a new television show section on its website, which includes categories like family, sports, comedy, romance, and even movies! What's great is that there's already a wide selection of shows, including classics like Alf, MacGyver, and 90210 — I know, ALF! Word has it that YouTube has signed agreements to distribute content from Sony, Lions Gate, CBS, MGM, and more, so hopefully the selection of shows keeps growing.

From The OC to Gossip Girl, every Josh Schwartz project has always used great music — usually thanks to the handiwork of superstar music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. Now, the two are teaming up for a new online series called Rockville, CA, an online soap for theWB.com set in a fictional rock club.

From the look of this trailer, all the standard Schwartz components are present: hipsters, snappy (if occasionally cheesy) dialogue, possible bar fights, and lots of making out. According to the official description, the club in question "is a place where a group of twentysomethings from diverse backgrounds gather regularly to hear their favorite up-and-coming bands, blow off steam, fall in love with the wrong people, and then talk about how they've fallen in love with the wrong people." What's really impressive, though, is the lineup of bands that will be performing for the show: Lykke Li, Phantom Planet, Kaiser Chiefs, and Eagles of Death Metal are just a few (full list here).

When I talked to Schwartz in January, he said he'd enjoyed experimenting with a web format for the first time: "Each episode isn't like, somebody had a twin brother and somebody drove off a cliff in the car," he said. "It's smaller. But the cumulative effect, I think, of all those 20 episodes is, 'Wow, I really went on a journey with those characters.' Smaller moments just take on a bigger reverberation." Hey, I'm in. Rockville, CA premieres online March 17, and to check out the trailer, just read more

I'm a big advocate of the video site Hulu, which streams movies and TV shows for free (they are commercial-supported). But there's still a huge list of shows, like The Hills, that aren't available on Hulu. The website Sling — brought to you by the masterminds of the SlingPlayer — is adding Viacom Shows (like The Hills) to its full streaming lineup. Viacom shows that were exclusively on Hulu like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will also be available on Sling too. I know I know, The Hills is available online via MTV, but the Sling video player is so much prettier.

Gearing up for Tuesday's big inauguration day? If you've got all of the festivities scheduled to tape on your DVR while you're at work, but you don't want to miss any of the action as it happens, a site called Ustream.TV will broadcast everything live and for free! And not only that, but if you have an iPhone, Ustream has created an iPhone viewing application so you can watch the inauguration live — directly from your cell phone. Oh, and for Hulu fans, don't worry, you can catch all the action on Hulu as well!

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If you can't find the video you're looking for on Hulu, give CastTV a whirl. CastTV is a new video aggregator, but has high hopes to become the top video source on the web by indexing every video that hits the Internet — from YouTube to iTunes — and be your one-stop shop for TV show and specialty program viewing.

I found episodes of Supernanny (a guilty pleasure of mine), plus insider clips from some of my favorite shows like Dexter, Mad Men, and Saturday Night Live. Plus, you can see news clips from hundreds of different stations to keep you up on current events. And really, what's better than watching your favorite shows from anywhere in the world on your laptop? Exactly.

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It'll be a few months before Jimmy Fallon officially slides into Conan O'Brien's chair as the host of NBC's Late Night, but starting tonight, he'll be doing some practice runs — and we can all watch online. At 12:30 a.m. each day, NBC will post a new video of Fallon on this new website.

The idea is that people will get used to seeing Fallon at 12:30 — and that he'll be able to test out material without having to see how it goes over in front of a live TV audience. Variety says the five-minute webisodes will be "lo-fi, freeform-style looks at what Fallon is up to on the eve of his hosting gig."

NBC's supposed to be announcing an official premiere date for Fallon's show this week, but March 2 is the latest rumor. That would give Conan O'Brien a few months off the air while he prepares to fill Jay Leno's Tonight Show shoes starting in June. Most of you thought Fallon would make a good Late Night host before, but now that the transition is getting closer, do you still feel the same?

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Well, at least one good thing came out of last Winter's writers' strike. This week brought the launch of Strike.tv, a venture for comedy writers to put their own content on the Web without the interference of networks. (Think Dr. Horrible, but with even more people involved.)

Several of the web series are up now, including one called House Poor starring The Office's Mindy Kaling as a new homeowner who will stop at nothing (er, not even faking a pregnancy) to set up her dream house. Kaling also pops up in Global Warming, a series starring Kristen Wiig and The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi as two coworkers and possible lovers connected only by their online tech support chats. There's lots more to come; check out the whole list.

Not only is it good content, but it also has a good cause: Its ad revenue benefits the Actors Fund's Entertainment Assistance Program, which distributes money to Hollywood workers (camera crews, set decorators, carpenters, etc.) hurt by the writers' strike and the threat of an actors' strike. This year, the fund has already given $1.3 million dollars in aid. So, get clicking!

The shows will also appear on YouTube and other video sites. To check out the first episode of House Poor, just read more