TV may be in a golden age, but as its distribution mechanisms become increasingly fractured, finding that gold becomes more and more difficult.

To wit, a recent conversation I had with a friend went something like this:

FRIEND: Have you seen “Happy Endings”? It’s hilarious!
ME: I have not, but I heard it’s great. I’ll check it out.
FRIEND: Problem is, it got cancelled.
ME: Oh, it did? Well shoot. Is it streaming online somewhere maybe? Netflix? Etc.?
FRIEND: Beats me.

In fact, full episodes of “Happy Endings” are available for streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and CinemaNow. It’s not the most cost-efficient way to catch up on all 57 episodes of ABC’s beloved but short-lived comedy, but at least I know it’s out there on-demand should I choose to see what all the fuss was about. I know this because I searched for the show on a new app created by an old service – a service that’s been around practically as long as the Internet itself. Or at least it feels that way: AOL’s Moviefone.

Moviefone, as the name suggests, began 25 years ago as an automated phone-in movie service wherein callers could dial up film times delivered by “Mr. Moviefone” himself. It made the requisite successful transition to online in the ‘90s, when it was purchased by AOL for $400 million. Then searching for films and film times online and doing other film-related tasks such as buying tickets became as easy as typing a title into your Google bar, and everyone kind of forgot about Moviefone (though, shockingly, the call-in service was still in operation as late as February 2014, when good ol’ 777-FILM was finally shut down).

But AOL didn’t forget about Moviefone, and still thinks there’s potential for the property. A new Moviefone app represents the service’s reinvention, creating a much sleeker, more user-friendly hub of film-related information, video and ticketing, but also adding TV to the mix in a way that is extremely, almost shockingly, useful. In a sense, Moviefone has become a TV guide for the cord-cutter set. Many viewers nowadays, when searching for a show, don’t want to know what channel it’s on, but if it’s streaming and where. The new Moviefone delivers that information and also lets the viewer click on their streaming service of choice should they want to watch right then and there.

“The line between television and film content blurs more every day,” said Lloyd Braun, chief executive of Whalerock Industries, who partnered with AOL for the relaunch, in a statement. “Consumers have a dizzying array of choices in determining what and where to watch their favorite TV shows and movies. We believe the new Moviefone will become an essential tool in helping consumers make that choice.”

In beefing up its mobile presence, the brand is putting the “phone” back in Moviefone, just with an entirely new meaning. But while nobody will be actually speaking with the service anymore, that’s not stopping Moviefone from reinventing its iconic mascot along with everything else – the search for a new Mr. or Ms. Moviefone gets underway this summer.

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