''Cybergeddon'' is a nine-part

cybercrime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

that was released between September 25 and September 27, 2012 by

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

and was later made available as a film on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. The film stars

Missy Peregrym Melissa "Missy" Peregrym (born June 16, 1982) is a Canadian actress and former fashion model. She is known for her roles as Haley Graham in the 2006 film ''Stick It''; as Officer Andy McNally on the ABC and Global Television Network series ' ...

and

Olivier Martinez Olivier Martinez (born 12 January 1966) is a French actor. He became well known after roles in several French films such as '' Un, deux, trois, soleil'' (1993), which garnered him the César Award for "Most Promising Actor", '' The Horseman on ...

Production

Directed by Diego Velasco, written by Miles Chapman and created by

Anthony E. Zuiker Anthony E. Zuiker (pronounced ; born August 17, 1968) is an American television writer, television producer, and author best known as the creator of ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He produced all 5 editions of the CSI (franchise), franchis ...

the web series/film stars Peregrym as an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agent trying to clear her name and Martinez as the villain. On March 21, 2012, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported that Zuiker would release the

feature length A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

film ''Cybergeddon'' in installments on Yahoo! the following fall. This was two months after Yahoo! announced the 20-webisode series '' Electric City'' by

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

. By July Norton was on board as a sponsor and provided real

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

hacker code, which led to prominent exposure for Norton in the final production. At the time of production, the web series, which cost $6 million, was the most expensive ever produced, about triple the cost of the previous web series (''Electric City'').

Distribution

Yahoo! released the film in over 25 countries and 10 languages in three installments per day for three consecutive days exclusively on the Yahoo! platform. After reaching an audience of over 25 million viewers in 25 countries online, the film was entered into a broadcast agreement for broadcast in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Canada in April 2013. The film was released on DVD on March 17, 2014. The film was made available on Netflix in June 2014. It is listed on Netflix as a film between 88 and 89 minutes long with a

PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

rating.

Reception

Reviews on the film were mixed. Mike Hale of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted that the caliber of production was above that of contemporary regular network

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

and on par with Syfy and

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

productions. Alasdair Wilkins of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' posted a very negative review, describing the film as "deeply stupid". However, at the

3rd Streamy Awards The 3rd Annual Streamy Awards was the third installment of the Streamy Awards honoring streaming television, streaming television series. The awards were held on February 17, 2013, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. It was hos ...

, Peregrym won Best Female Performance – Drama, and the series had three other nominations. Zuiker went on to win an International Digital Emmy Award Pioneer Prize for his efforts at connecting Silicon Valley and Hollywood in what was at the time considered a groundbreaking production. The film was part of a critically successful year for Yahoo! video productions.

Notes

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2189240, Cybergeddon
Official trailer
2012 American television series debuts 2012 web series debuts 2012 crime drama films 2012 action thriller films 2012 crime thriller films American films with live action and animation 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American television miniseries 2010s English-language films American English-language television shows Television series about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Films set in Hong Kong Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Prague Films set in Ukraine Films set in Washington, D.C. Serial drama television series Crime drama web series Fiction about law enforcement English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films English-language action thriller films