'Lil' Bush' Could Mark a Big Change for TV

June 14, 2007 — -- It used to be that aspiring TV show creators had to get the green light from a major studio and spend millions on a pilot.

But all Donick Cary, creator of the new show "Lil' Bush," had to do was post his project on YouTube.

The success of his animated satire, starring a pint-sized version of the president, could change the way new television projects make it to the small screen and even the types of shows you'll see in the future.

Cary said "Lil' Bush" is like "The Little Rascals" with nuclear weapons.

Lil' George is, of course, the leader of the gang. There's also Lil' Rummy, Lil' Cheney (who rarely talks and bites the heads off of chickens) and Lil' Condi, who has an unrequited crush on George.

They attend school with other mini political types, including Democrats who get the brunt of their bullying.

"First and foremost, we hope the show is funny," Cary said. "The inspiration for this was partly to shrink down Washington and hopefully show some schoolyard politics."

Cary started the show by making six episodes -- or mob-isodes -- for view on mobile phones. They were wildly popular on both phones and on YouTube, leading Comedy Central to pick it up.

"It's a very low-risk way to test something out, to incubate, let it grow, and see how it is," Cary said.

This pioneering arrangement may well influence the types of shows seen on television in the future.

"People could get to see a variety of potential shows and they could vote on them," Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund speculated. "In fact, they could download a pilot on their cell phone and have them vote on it as soon as they watch it and tabulate the votes."

It's unclear how successful this democratization will be in the case of "Lil' Bush," which has been panned by several critics. On top of that, the Internet company that initially ran the show has filed for bankruptcy protection. But if the show's ratings are good, that could be a mere lil' blip in "Lil' Bush's" history.