8am BST

Bebo's KateModern to end next month

Jemima Kiss
guardian.co.uk, Monday May 12 2008 07.17 BST

Kate Modern: the final episode will air on June 28

KateModern, the flagship online drama broadcast by social networking site Bebo, will wrap up for the last time at the end of June, it was announced today.

The last part of series two will air on June 28, with Bebo promising a "high octane" ending with multiple episodes.

Featuring Royle Family star Ralph Little, the interactive drama has run for more than 300 four-minute episodes since it launched in July last year, racking up more than 57 million views.

Bebo wanted the show to "encourage unprecedented interactivity" with its audience and has also tried to distinguish itself from rival social networking sites by building up original content.

Users are given interactive tools to "talk" to KateModern characters and producers from the series, suggest storylines and solve puzzles in the plot.

The Bebo president, Joanna Shields, said KateModern has "created a new genre and demonstrated the power of media on a social network with gripping storylines and peerless production values".

KateModern's producer EQAL, which also made the YouTube hit Lonely Girl 15, has not ruled out reprising the drama in the future but will hope to beat the average 1.5 million views of each episode.

A spokeswoman for Bebo said the show had always been profitable because the site worked to establish sponsorship deals before it went ahead.

Brands including Orange, Toyota and Cadbury Creme Egg have all been involved in sponsorship activity around KateModern.

Bebo is also running online dramas Sophia's Diary and the Big Trip, and is expected to announce new video projects soon.

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