The eccentric world of an Internet startup takes center stage this fall when Bravo debuts LOLwork on Nov. 7.
The comedic documentary series follows the employees of I Can Has Cheezburger, the nearly 6-year-old humor website that became famous for showcasing lolcat memes, a.k.a. cat photographs with funny text.
"I've lived on the Internet for so long that what we do is not unusual to me, but to the rest of America it is — it's very strange," Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh tells Mashable.
Huh admits the camera style used for LOLwork resembles NBC's The Office (it even has interview-room confessionals). However, he assures viewers the comparisons end there, particularly regarding the cast, which works out of the company's Seattle office.
"There's no Dwight," he says, jokingly. "These characters don't exist in this world. We have our own personalities. I'm not Michael Scott if that's what you're asking."
I Can Has Cheezburger often posts memes and GIFs in real-time during TV shows or broadcasts such as the 54th Grammy Awards, and the website plans to continue this effort during each televised LOLwork episode.
"This is so f___ing meta, we're going to end up covering ourselves," Huh exclaims, describing LOLwork as not a "clip show of animals," but rather an exploration of Internet startup employees in and out of the office.
LOLwork premieres Wednesday at 11 p.m. EST, but you can watch the first part of the inaugural episode here:
Cheezburger Network, which consists of I Can Has Cheezburger and 50 sister sites such as FAIL Blog, Know Your Meme, Memebase and The Daily What, made headlines in January when it protested the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act by shutting down its sites for a period of time.
LOLwork isn't the only Bravo show about startup life. Bravo premiered Start-Ups: Silicon Valley on Monday. The show highlights young entrepreneurs' journeys to build a successful tech business.
BONUS: Speaking of Cats …
The most acclaimed web cat is Nyan Cat, an 8-bit animated feline, who won Meme of the Year at the Webby Awards in May.
The Pop Tart-shaped viral sensation stormed onto the Internet in April 2011 when illustrator Chris Torres introduced Nyan Cat to the masses via YouTube.
Since then, Nyan Cat's fame has spawned a frequently updated website, video games, a soundtrack and many cute accessories.
"Nyan Cat has transformed into this viral entity that has surpassed not only everything I originally expected for my art but for memes in general," Torres recently told Mashable. "It's gained its own amazing subculture with incredibly creative fans."
Orange tabby cat Fatso (a.k.a. Keyboard Cat) most recently appeared in a parody of U.S. President Barack Obama's Google+ Hangout in February 2012.
Keyboard Cat's origins, however, date back to 1984, and its popularity rose in 2007 after a clip was uploaded to YouTube. That video now has 25 million views. Keyboard Cat tends to make appearances in spoofs and even in commercials.
Meet the Kitlers, cats that look like dictator Adolf Hitler — mustache included.
News channel CNN even gave the Kitlers a segment in 2010, after comedian Stephen Colbert gave the meme a nod.
And, naturally, a website dedicated to Kitlers exists.
Don't mess with the feline's thick glasses and purple hoodie. Advice animal image macro Hipster Kitty knows everything about hipster culture before you do.
Tumblr and Reddit are credited with circulating this bad boy. Many hip cats have followed in Hipster Kitty's footsteps, showing their support over at HipsterKitty.com
Not many animals can say they've had a humongous mural made in their honor. Invisible Bike Cat can, though.
In 2008, people painted the LOLcat on a three-story building in San Francisco.
Well, that's one way to take your Internet fame offline, eh?
If you like the LOLcat website, I Can Has Cheezburger, you can thank its originator, Happy Cat.
Without Happy Cat, the humor website — which turned 5 this year — might not exist.
Maybe I Can Has Cheezburger will give Happy Cat a cameo in its forthcoming reality TV show.
Warning: Please do try this at home.
Breading Cats, the series of photos featuring cats with bread has headgear, resurfaced this year after Gawker published an article about the "hot new Internet meme" in January. The meme began last fall.
We'd call this wisecrack a "smarty pants," but we're not sure Chemistry Cat is wearing any.
This feline's jokes are a thing of science...literally.
This critter's name says it all. Longcat is known for its body length.
"Longcat is LOOOOOOONG," says the Longcat entry in Urban Dictionary.
The torso is likely good for "meows" and such.
What if your boss was a cat? The world may never know, but for now, you can live vicariously through Business Cat.
This tie-clad advice animal image macro series rattles orders similar to human office bosses.
Not as cool as Hipster Kitty, this advice animal image macro is full of one emotion: anxiousness.
Anxiety Cat freaks out over every little thing, akin to real cats.
Not gonna make any jokes here, you know, 'cause Serious Cat won't care. We'll let Urban Dictionary describe this uptight feline:
"A very f***ing serious white cat popularized by imdb.com user Timmys_DownTheBloodyWell. He is Emperor and Supreme overlord of a board called 'The Sandbox' as well as President of the Anti-squirrel coalition. In his spare time he enjoys spreading awareness of the seriousness of a thread, killing infidels (mostly squirrels), and he also taking long llama rides on the beach."
"Ceiling cat is watching you masturbate." With those words plopped onto this photo, the pic rose to fame in 2006, according to Know Your Meme.
Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin first got the cat meme treatment in 2007, when I Can Has Cheezburger posted a photo of the stern-looking cat with the attached text:
"MAKE READY MY SHIP GENERAL. IT IS TIME TO SHOW THOSE DOGS WHAT WE ARE MADE OF."
The text-over-photo meme gives another meaning to "Leninism," don't you think?
So this is how OMG Cat reacted when he found out he was chosen for Mashable's "15 Best Cat Memes Ever" list.
Watch the feline's full react huuuuuur.
The most acclaimed web cat is Nyan Cat, an 8-bit animated feline, who won Meme of the Year at the Webby Awards in May.
The Pop Tart-shaped viral sensation stormed onto the Internet in April 2011 when illustrator Chris Torres introduced Nyan Cat to the masses via YouTube.
Since then, Nyan Cat's fame has spawned a frequently updated website, video games, a soundtrack and many cute accessories.
"Nyan Cat has transformed into this viral entity that has surpassed not only everything I originally expected for my art but for memes in general," Torres recently told Mashable. "It's gained its own amazing subculture with incredibly creative fans."
Orange tabby cat Fatso (a.k.a. Keyboard Cat) most recently appeared in a parody of U.S. President Barack Obama's Google+ Hangout in February 2012.
Keyboard Cat's origins, however, date back to 1984, and its popularity rose in 2007 after a clip was uploaded to YouTube. That video now has 25 million views. Keyboard Cat tends to make appearances in spoofs and even in commercials.
Meet the Kitlers, cats that look like dictator Adolf Hitler — mustache included.
News channel CNN even gave the Kitlers a segment in 2010, after comedian Stephen Colbert gave the meme a nod.
And, naturally, a website dedicated to Kitlers exists.
Don't mess with the feline's thick glasses and purple hoodie. Advice animal image macro Hipster Kitty knows everything about hipster culture before you do.
Tumblr and Reddit are credited with circulating this bad boy. Many hip cats have followed in Hipster Kitty's footsteps, showing their support over at HipsterKitty.com
Not many animals can say they've had a humongous mural made in their honor. Invisible Bike Cat can, though.
In 2008, people painted the LOLcat on a three-story building in San Francisco.
Well, that's one way to take your Internet fame offline, eh?
If you like the LOLcat website, I Can Has Cheezburger, you can thank its originator, Happy Cat.
Without Happy Cat, the humor website — which turned 5 this year — might not exist.
Maybe I Can Has Cheezburger will give Happy Cat a cameo in its forthcoming reality TV show.
Warning: Please do try this at home.
Breading Cats, the series of photos featuring cats with bread has headgear, resurfaced this year after Gawker published an article about the "hot new Internet meme" in January. The meme began last fall.
We'd call this wisecrack a "smarty pants," but we're not sure Chemistry Cat is wearing any.
This feline's jokes are a thing of science...literally.
This critter's name says it all. Longcat is known for its body length.
"Longcat is LOOOOOOONG," says the Longcat entry in Urban Dictionary.
The torso is likely good for "meows" and such.
What if your boss was a cat? The world may never know, but for now, you can live vicariously through Business Cat.
This tie-clad advice animal image macro series rattles orders similar to human office bosses.
Not as cool as Hipster Kitty, this advice animal image macro is full of one emotion: anxiousness.
Anxiety Cat freaks out over every little thing, akin to real cats.
Not gonna make any jokes here, you know, 'cause Serious Cat won't care. We'll let Urban Dictionary describe this uptight feline:
"A very f***ing serious white cat popularized by imdb.com user Timmys_DownTheBloodyWell. He is Emperor and Supreme overlord of a board called 'The Sandbox' as well as President of the Anti-squirrel coalition. In his spare time he enjoys spreading awareness of the seriousness of a thread, killing infidels (mostly squirrels), and he also taking long llama rides on the beach."
"Ceiling cat is watching you masturbate." With those words plopped onto this photo, the pic rose to fame in 2006, according to Know Your Meme.
Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin first got the cat meme treatment in 2007, when I Can Has Cheezburger posted a photo of the stern-looking cat with the attached text:
"MAKE READY MY SHIP GENERAL. IT IS TIME TO SHOW THOSE DOGS WHAT WE ARE MADE OF."
The text-over-photo meme gives another meaning to "Leninism," don't you think?
So this is how OMG Cat reacted when he found out he was chosen for Mashable's "15 Best Cat Memes Ever" list.
Watch the feline's full react huuuuuur.
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