Can Social Networks Drive TV Listings?

A new group on Facebook has been launched to promote 'The Dudes', a new cartoon series which is described as the UK's alternative to 'The Simpsons'. The creators are trying to launch 'The Dude revolution' by building a big enough following on Facebook to convince programmers to screen their production. As an incentive, they are offering the chance for two of the group members to be turned into a 'Dude' and provide a voiceover for the first full episode.

Interestingly, the group, currently 190 strong, is also being used to provide ideas for character development and ideas for episodes. This is very much in the tradition started by Skins earlier this year.

Are we entering a new phase of the Social Web where content will increasingly be generated by consumers? Will teams of scriptwriters will become redundant? And if TV is driven more and more by who can prove the greatest support online, will the quality of programming improve or get even worse (if that's possible)?