Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Creator: Joss Whedon, a director, executive producer and Academy Award-nominated writer (“Toy Story”). He is best known as the creator of TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” His newest show, “Dollhouse,” is scheduled to debut on Fox midseason.

Show: Joss Whedon crafted the breakout Web hit “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” about a bumbling super-villain and his crush on a young woman. The show is a 43-minute, three-part “Web musical” starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Mr. Whedon wrote the show during the writers’ strike earlier this year as a statement about “scribes striking back,” he said. “I was surprised the media took it seriously as something other than a lark, because for us it was a lark. It was a deliberate lark and a calculated good time,” he said. But he’s aware that the show has become a measuring stick for the viability of Web video. “This Web series is about the freedom to create what I want to create,” he said.

Advertisers: Advertisers for the show include run-of-site deals on Hulu, from sponsors such as Degree. The show is on track to break even soon. Revenue comes from iTunes, sales of the soundtrack, advertising deals and from an upcoming DVD release. “In a couple months we can start paying off everybody,” Mr. Whedon said.

Distribution: The show premiered in July on DrHorrible.com and also on iTunes. The show was so popular the first day it ran that it crashed servers, yet it still generated more than 2 million streams in its first five days online. The show now runs on Hulu.com.

What’s to like: Because of Mr. Whedon’s track record in Hollywood, he was able to line up top-notch actors at practically no cost for the initial six-day shoot. Both TV and Web critics have gushed over the show.

What’s not to like? The show was a one-shot deal, with no sequel or follow-up planned.