Streaming over-the-top service Crackle will develop its second scripted series, Start Up, later this year, the company said Wednesday.

The 10-episode, technology-themed drama stars Adam Brody (CHiPS, The League) as Nick Talman who – trying to hide his father’s illegally earned financial fortune from the FBI and from local gangs – invests in a tech startup, and Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock) as an FBI agent who is investigating Talman.

The series follows Crackle’s first scripted series, The Art Of More, which launched this past November.

“Start Up carries out our promise to continue our commitment to quality drama,” said Eric Berger, general manager of Crackle and executive vice president of Sony Pictures Television Digital Networks. “We are working with a top-notch team to produce a project that explores the motivations and complexities of creating a new venture, while walking a fine line between crime and legitimacy.”

Start Up is produced by Critical Content and Hollywood Gang Productions, with Tom Forman, Andrew Marcus, Ray Ricord, Gianni Nunnari and Shannon Gaulding all serving as executive producers.

OTT service Crackle has renewed its original scripted series The Art of More for a sophomore campaign, less than two weeks after its Nov. 19 premiere.

The series, which delves into the cutthroat world of premium auction houses and stars Dennis Quaid and Kate Bosworth, has garnered 2 million views since its debut, Crackle said. (Watch the trailer.) Further, more than half of those viewing the series were new to Crackle.

“As our most ambitious series to date, The Art of More is a brand-defining drama that speaks to Crackle's mission to be a home to must-see original content," said Eric Berger, GM of Crackle and EVP of Sony Pictures Television Digital Networks. "The successful performance of the series in such a short amount of time is a testament to the incredible team behind it who will take our audience deeper into a world where there is still much more story to tell.”

The 10-episode, second season of The Art of More will begin shooting in early 2016, said company officials.

RELATED:Looking for Shows People 'Love': A Q&A With Crackle's John Orlando

Crackle is hoping to break into the big leagues of streaming services with the help of new original series, including the Nov. 19 debut of glitzy drama The Art of More, set in the fictitious realm of New York City art-auction houses and featuring star turns by Dennis Quaid, Cary Elwes and Kate Bosworth.

Over the past five years, the unit of Sony Pictures Television has evolved from offering short-form content, then adding Web series, to now creating long-form TV and films. While The Art of More is the free, ad-supported platform’s first original scripted series, in early October Crackle reached another milestone with the launch of stopmotion animated series SuperMansion, voiced by Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston.

With 18 million monthly users in the U.S. and availability via 30 different applications for connected TVs, smartphones, tablets and the Web, Crackle has taken pains to ensure its content is pervasive and accessible. To that end, its content also comes in three languages and is available in 21 countries.

‘OTT’ IS TEMPORARY

As executive vice president of digital networks at Sony Pictures Television and general manager of Crackle, Eric Berger has helped develop the division into Sony’s always-on global streaming network. He is responsible for the development, production and distribution of original features and series created for Crackle. He also oversees all programming, marketing, distribution, product, video operations and engineering, as well as ad sales for Crackle and PlayStation Vue.

While it’s tempting to call Crackle another over-the-top provider, Berger eschews the term, calling it “temporary.”

“We view ourselves much more akin to a TV network,” he said. “We’re in the best of both worlds between TV and streaming, and we’re programming with original content. We’ve gone from shortform websites to half-hours, to features and one-hour dramas. We’re growing and evolving.”

Berger said Crackle has aimed for a seamless streaming experience that mirrors programmed linear-TV viewing. When a viewer launches the Crackle app, a scheduled program begins to play, and consumers can browse for something else in the channel guide while continuing to watch the show that’s currently on.

While viewers can always watch something on-demand, Crackle also offers multiple scheduled channels of themed content that vary by daypart.

Berger’s team analyzed consumer behavior with OTT and found that the connected TV category was the most desirable for streaming video into the home.

There were also differences in behavior among users of Roku boxes, Apple TV boxes and game consoles vs. linear TV. The idea of coming home and watching whatever’s on TV is a thing of the past — connected-TV users were simply watching whatever was on, the team found.

This fall, Crackle rolled out the always- on experience on a number of connected devices, including Roku, PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

Consumers started to take notice of Crackle in a big way in 2013 when Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee, the unscripted interview series produced by and starring Jerry Seinfeld, launched. That was Crackle’s first big crossover show, and it returns in January for a seventh season.

Dan Patrick’s Sports Jeopardy!, a weekly show produced in front of a live studio audience, takes Crackle even further into the pop-culture zeitgeist.

Berger made note of another differentiator for Crackle: Its shows go straight to series; there are no pilots. In addition, Crackle integrates advertisers early on in the process and because it’s backed by Sony, the shows are distributed globally. And by being both the studio and the network, Crackle has an end-to-end process that it sees all the way through from conception with the talent, through distribution. Plus it controls the ad sales.

‘TV AND NOTHING SHORT OF THAT’

Berger calls The Art of More and SuperMansion “TV and nothing short of that.”

“It’s the next evolution for us as we come up from movies and half-hours,” he said. “We want to position Crackle as the best of both worlds — we’re on-demand and we’re a linear network.”

Crackle’s predominantly 18-to-34- year-old male demographic is also evolving and the network is looking more at the psychographics of its streaming audience. “We’re focused on ‘rechargers,’ people who are in the prime of their professional lives, building careers, working hard and playing hard. They stream to relax, they over-index on game-console usage, and they want things that are hassle-free and accessible.”

Bridging the gap between linear TV and on-demand is what Crackle’s aiming for and it’s a sweet spot for Berger.

“I really enjoy the intersection of the art and the technology,” he said. “I like taking the data and learnings about the experiences consumers like to have and translating them into new experiences.”

“We’re introducing audiences to new worlds they haven’t seen before and aligning them thematically with other content that resonates and does well,” Berger added. “By using the data and seeing what works and doesn’t work, we can extrapolate.

“You’re going to see more and more original programming on Crackle,” he added.

RELATED:Building Crackle Into ‘More’ Than OTT

JOHN ORLANDO, vice president of development at Crackle, where he reports to general manager Eric Berger, spoke with Next TV contributor Tobi Elkin about developing original content for the Sony Pictures Television-owned streaming service. An edited transcript follows.

Next TV: How would you describe your role? What is the most critical part of your role?

John Orlando: I’m the head of development at Crackle, Sony Pictures Television’s streaming television network, which means I’m the person that is tasked with finding and nurturing our original programming. I try to find the best ideas for our original series and films and, along with the production team and talent, develop them into the best shows they can be. As we build a new network with its own unique voice, the most critical part of my job is finding great ideas and worlds that other people aren’t tapped into.

NTV: What does a potential hit look like to you?

JO: Hits are shows that people love, not like. We hope our new shows premiering this fall, The Art of More and SuperMansion, look like hits because we love these shows and are betting on them. The Art of More, starring Dennis Quaid and Kate Bosworth, exposes the audience to the underbelly of the high-stakes auction world — a unique universe that has never been explored. We populate the world with fantastic, compelling characters that will make you want to stay in this exclusive realm. SuperMansion, executive-produced and voiced by Bryan Cranston, takes a very different approach. It’s a stop-motion animated series, from the best people in that business (Stoopid Buddy Stoodios), that lovingly lampoons the superhero genre in an outrageous fashion. You’ll love these characters as well. You can’t love a show without loving the characters and wanting to spend time with them.

NTV: When so many people are pitching ideas, can you boil down three things that must be there in order for you to even consider a project?

JO: No. 1: There needs to be a unique world, concept, characters, and voice. No. 2: Culturally relevant and current themes, stories, and subtexts. No. 3: Killer story and characters that will move an audience emotionally.

NTV: What makes the difference between something that’s in the consideration pile and something that’s actually greenlighted?

JO: Inspiration and elevation. The difference is between technically proficient ideas, writing, packaging and truly inspired and elevated ideas. We might “like” something that’s competently written and packaged and takes place in a relatively interesting world, but we will never “love” it. Something we love has more inspired, nuanced characters; elevated, thoughtful ideas; and makes you want to be immersed in the project.