Strike.TV was born on the picket line.

The new Web site, which started last week, was conceived of during the Hollywood writers strike earlier this year. The strike — largely over a dispute with studios over how to divvy up revenue from online entertainment — effectively shut down Hollywood for more than three months.

At the time, writers — ironically or fittingly, depending on your point of view — got their message out in Web videos that were much watched on the strike's unofficial blog, United Hollywood, and on YouTube.

"Everyone was making these movies about the strike," recalls Peter Hyoguchi, the chief executive officer of Strike.TV. "I thought, 'What if we just did our own Web site that wasn't movies about the strike?' "

Months later and after much anticipation, Strike.TV has gotten under way as a portal for professionally created Web series. The site debuts with 10 original series and promises more than 40 series eventually.

Its slogan: "Hollywood Unplugged."

Among the series: "Global Warming," starring Kristin Wiig ("Saturday Night Live") and Aasif Mandvi ("The Daily Show"). Wiig plays a character who works in an office and falls in love with her tech-support guy in India (Mandvi).

Mindy Kaling ("The Office") stars in "House Poor," a mockumentary about a woman who doesn't have enough cash to furnish her house.

Steven E. de Souza, writer of "Die Hard," "48 Hours" and other films, wrote, directed and produced "Unknown Sender," which stars Timothy Dalton and Joanne Whalley. The fictional series is conceived of as a collection of videos — confessionals, surveillance tapes — that aren't necessarily meant to be distributed.

"Every medium is going to have certain unique things that fit that storytelling method," says de Souza. "And that's what we tried to do with ours, at least — to make it webby, whatever webby is."

What's most interesting about Strike.TV is seeing professionals like de Souza try their hand at a new medium. It's clear they're experimenting and adapting. The results may not be perfect, but de Souza compares this moment to the early days of film with sound or color.

"The absence of pressure from studio, network — whatever — was tangible," he says. "Everyone had fun, everyone was exhilarated."

De Souza made his six episodes near the end of the strike, working with a cast and crew that mostly deferred their fees. (The Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild granted the productions of Strike.TV a waiver to work during the strike.) All cast and crew will get part of any profits that result.