BRAMPTON, Ont. – The business of television has become a super highway with off-ramps in all directions. A couple of new Canadian web series hope to backpack their way in front of as many viewers as possible.

“Backpackers” stars Noah Reid (last season’s CBC series “Titanic”) and Dillon Casey (“Nikita”) as two buddies who head to Europe for one last summer sowing wild oats.

Ryan (Reid) is engaged to marry high-school sweetie Beth (Meghan Heffern from “Almost Heroes”), but the two get cold feet. She suggests they take separate trips abroad to get all the sexual silliness out of their systems before they commit to a lifetime together. He thinks this may just be the best idea ever.

So does his randy pal Brandon (Casey), happy to fulfil his destiny as “the best wing man in history.”

The web series is produced with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund and premieres Monday on CTV.ca. It’s already up and streaming Stateside on CW Seed, a new digital studio spun off from The CW which launched Aug. 15.

“Backpackers” is one of four new digital web series on Seed, which is targeted at the young adult viewers more at ease with watching content on various mobile devices instead of on traditional television monitors.

Casey was just coming off the third season of shot-in-Toronto “Nikita” when the opportunity to move forward with “Backpackers” came up.

“I first auditioned for the series five years ago when I first went out to L.A.,” says Casey, who grew up in Toronto (although don’t trust his Wikipedia page; it’s loaded with info-bombs. Casey himself made up his birthplace — Vegas — and certain friendships — Robert De Niro — just to prove that Wikipedia isn’t always a reliable source).

Another actor was the original co-star. The two shot a pilot in Barcelona, Spain.

“It was the first time I’d been to Europe and it was a paid trip to go film something. It was amazing,” says the 29-year-old actor, who completed the eight-episode series in Spain, Italy and France.

Casey’s no stranger to web shoots. He and his brothers Lyndon and Conor have been posting short comedy pieces the past few years at their Casey Brothers website. “Backpackers,” however, is a step above, a budgeted, scripted series which, according to director Josh Levy, could easily be edited into a feature film.

Casey says while he and Reid were free to improvise dialogue and business they pretty much stuck to Adam and Josh Reid’s scripts.

“The European locations were incredible,” he says, “but the real story is the relationship between the two friends.”

The involvement of Shaftesbury Films as a production partner also opens up distribution possibilities, especially beyond Canada. Shaftesbury currently produces the hit Canadian network dramas “Murdoch Mysteries” for CBC and “The Listener” for CTV.

Shaftesbury is also behind “Long Story, Short,” a coming-of-age web series starring Toronto native Katie Boland. The 25-year-old actress has been in the business since she was a child, appearing in such kiddie fare as “Noddy” and “The Zack Files.”

“Long Story, Short” was written by Boland and co-created by her mother, director Gail Harvey (“Lost Girl,” “Republic of Doyle”). Fans of the HBO series “Girls” will relate to this similar tale of a 21-year-old art student who returned to Toronto after a false start in Manhattan. Back in her old bedroom, she’s struggling to find her personal and professional self as she parties it up with her girlfriends in the big city.

Boland offered roles to acting friends (including “18 to Life” pal Michael Seater) and encouraged everybody to wear their own clothes and change lines if inspiration hit. Shooting with her mom was no problem since they’re also best friends, although Boland did ask Harvey to step out for the character’s more intimate encounters.

Boland says as a first-time creator, she doubts a network would have given her the creative freedom she enjoyed on the web.

“I thought the web was interesting,” says Boland, “because there were fewer restrictions. Without a broadcaster we could do what we wanted essentially, and also more apt because none of my friends own a TV.”

Boland also likes “how quickly you can connect with your audience on the web, via Twitter and Facebook, and almost instantly know how your work is landing with its audience.”

The 11 five-minute “Long Story, Short” episodes are posted weekly at Koldcast.TV, which bills itself as “The First and Leading Int’l Discovery Network for Original TV Series.”

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Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.