Could the next great television series premiere on mobile?

We live in a golden age of television innovation. Look no further than cable's best comedy, Eastbound & Down, which returns to HBO on Feb. 19, or its finest drama, Mad Men, which comes back to AMC on Mar. 25. Not only is there more on television worth watching than ever before, but thanks to mobile, there are more opportunities to soak it all in: Video plays on tablets, mobile devices and connected devices nearly doubled in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter according to data released this week by digital video technology provider Ooyala. Consumers are not only watching more videos, but they're also devoting more time per viewing session. Tablet owners watched 21.9 percent longer per video compared to the third quarter and completed videos 38 percent of the time, behind only viewers on connected TV devices and game consoles at 47 percent. Ooyala's Q4 2011 Video Index adds that both Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android grew dramatically in the fourth quarter in terms of videos played and hours watched.

"While people are still watching much more traditional TV than streaming video, our data shows we're on a clear and irreversible course toward an IP-delivered future," Ooyala co-founder and president of products Bismarck Lepe said in a statement. "For example, looking at non-desktop video views, the fourth quarter was the second straight quarter of nearly 100 percent growth. The Video Index also shows people are far more engaged on tablets, which are closer to TVs than they are to smartphones when it comes to viewing behavior."

Look for mobile video viewership to continue growing at an extraordinary rate. Worldwide mobile data traffic is on pace to increase 18-fold over the next five years, tripling fixed data traffic by 2016, according to a new forecast issued by networking giant Cisco Systems. Cisco anticipates that the number of mobile web-connected devices will eclipse the number of people on earth by the end of the forecast period, projecting an annual run rate of 130 exabytes of mobile data traffic (a number equivalent to 33 billion DVDs, 4.3 quadrillion MP3 files or 813 quadrillion text messages). Cisco adds that video will make up 71 percent of all that mobile data traffic, buoyed by network connection speeds expected to increase nine-fold over the next several years.

With mobile device sales exploding, wireless networks improving and video viewership surging, it was inevitable that Hollywood would turn to producing original content optimized for digital platforms. Earlier this month, streaming video service Netflix premiered the eight-episode original series Lilyhammer across connected TVs, tablets, game consoles, desktops and mobile phones. Starring longtime Sopranos mainstay and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, Lilyhammer follows the tale of a New York mobster who enters the federal witness protection program and settles in Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics. This week, Netflix rival Hulu debuted its first original scripted program, Battleground, a faux-documentary series that depicts the inner workings of a Wisconsin political race. But digital distribution is all that makes either series compelling: Both Lilyhammer and Battleground are polished and professional, though not particularly memorable or innovative. More importantly, neither leverages the interactive possibilities inherent in digital media--possibilities that could have set these new series apart from everything that came before them.    

But it seems like only a matter of time before mobile video produces something as brilliant as Mad Men or Eastbound & Down yet completely different from either. And just like those shows originated outside of the broadcast network hegemony, chances are the first great mobile series won't come from a traditional entertainment provider, either. Upstarts are already pushing the boundaries of what mobile video is and what it can be: Late last month, mobile gaming startup XMG Studio introduced Totally Amp'd, a 10-episode live action comedy targeting teens and available exclusively on Apple's iOS platform. Spotlighting the misadventures of five teens taking their shot at pop stardom, Totally Amp'd fuses sitcom plots with interactive elements enabling users to sing karaoke, direct and edit music videos and design fashions for the show's characters. I'm at least 25 years too old to enjoy Totally Amp'd as entertainment, but I admire its ingenuity and energy; most important, the content exploits the technology at its disposal--it's a series that couldn't exist apart from mobile devices. Maybe Totally Amp'd isn't must-see mobile TV, but it gives me hope that The Wire of wireless is right around the corner.--Jason