Welcome to this week’s Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday Tiffany and I are back from celebrating #watchwed’s one year anniversary and are rarin’ to go. (If you missed the celebration, we took photos. Go check them out.) This week Tiffany takes on the premiere of Dallas, and I hit the interwebs for entertainment, coming up with Leap Year.

Regular readers of this series know that I just recently killed my cable. That’s right. The girl who tells you what’s worth watching on television doesn’t have one.

Well, that’s not entirely true. With services like Netflix and Hulu+, I get a wide variety of my favorite programs. But, I don’t get everything I once did. So, as a service to the many of you who are in the same cable-less boat, I’ll be scouring the web series of the world for the best in online entertainment. (I’ve already begun with a previous review of Battleground.)

Leap Year caught my eye some time ago. I can’t recall exactly, but I’m sure it had something to do with Craig Bierko’s involvement in the project. I tuned in for the first episode and that was that.

The series follows 5 friends: Jack (Drew Lanning), Aaron (Yuri Baranovsky), Bryn (Alexis Boozer), Derek (Wilson Cleveland), and Olivia (Daniela DiIorio). Each character is trying to start a new business after being laid off, or “released” from their old job, in an effort to win half a million in funding for their startup.

I adore this show for the simple fact that it is good. Not only believable, but likable characters engaged in witty, realistic dialogue, in a plot that is interesting and current…there aren’t many TV shows to which I can attribute a similar description.

The part that I find particularly interesting is that this is “branded television”, yet the brand (Hiscox, provider of small business insurance) is not visible in the actual show. The show manages to successfully chronicle the various ups and downs of a small business, particularly a startup, which not only resonates with the brand’s key demographic, but entertains anyone who watches. For businesses venturing into branded entertainment, Leap Year certainly sets the standard.

Oh, and did I mention the guests? Season one boasted Mashable’s Adam Ostrow and entrepeneurs like Guy Kawasaki and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as the hilarious Craig Bierko and Julie Warner. This season has stars like Elisha Dushku, Emma Caulfied, Steven Weber, and my favorites, Craig Bierko (he’s worth mentioning again, right?) and Joshua Malina.

That list shouldn’t detract from the regular cast, whose talents make this show work.

Yeah, so, my point is, I like the show. A lot. GMacTV, people. The episodes aren’t lengthy, so it’s more of a gourmet snack than a meal, but it is totally worth sitting down for.

Are any of you watching Leap Year? Have you jumped into more original web programming yet? Do you have any favorites? Which ones would you like featured on Why It’s Worth a Watch?

Now, head over to Tiffany’s and see her thoughts on the much discussed Dallas.

Come back next week when we review something…  it’s summer time and the heat is taking a toll on our planning ahead.

Remember to stop by the #watchwed hashtag on Twitter to discuss any of today’s reviews, or to mention any television programs that you’d like to see on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in the future.

Last week, we offered a special anniversary giveaway where I promised one lucky commenter from my blog and another from Tiffany’s a red carpet event photo with the celebrity of their choice.  First, THANK YOU to everyone who participated!  But sadly we can only have one winner. Or, technically, two.

After using the random number generator at www.random.org, lucky #11 won here!

Who is #11?

::shuffles papers::

Angela Ackerman! Angela, I’ll be contacting you for a photo to use for your red carpet experience. We’ll post the photos next week.

[Edited to add: You can check out Leap Year on Hulu or here. Enjoy!]

A Recap of The WatchWed Review System:

GTV (Gourmet TV): Everything we want and more
GMacTV (Gourmet MacNCheese TV): A combination of fine wine and comfort food MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies
JFTV (Junk food TV): It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds
TBPTV (Twice Baked Potato TV): Part gourmet and delicious, while absolutely horrible for our cholesterol
SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out
NIV (Nyquil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer
LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech