The world’s largest video platform is getting real in the streaming game. YouTube’s own streaming subscription service YouTube Red has just ordered a complete roster of new original shows scheduled to air in 2017. Dan Harmon, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Doug Liman are just some of the names attached to the upcoming projects.
Susanne Daniels, the Global Head of Content for YouTube, made the announcement during a keynote at Mipcom’s Media Mastermind panel. Other industry leaders joined her to give the news, including Burnie Burns and Kevin Beggs of Rooster Teeth fame on YouTube.
The community over at the free YouTube platform has received the news with mixed reactions. The Google-owned video site has recently introduced controversial policies and initiatives that make it difficult for dedicated content creators to grow solely on their videos.
“Our goal is to be uniquely YouTube,” Daniels said. “And our thesis is simple: Identify YouTube’s most engaging stars and top genres, and invest in the content that fans tell us they want. In other words, let our community drive our content,” she added.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will bring ‘Lifeline’ to YouTube Red
The iconic action star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will serve as an executive producer of the sci-fi thriller ‘Lifeline.’ Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer of the YouTube channel Corridor Digital are attached as directors of the project.
‘Lifeline’ will have its first season run for eight half-hour episodes and it is scheduled to debut in 2017. The plot will revolve around an insurance agency capable of sending agents into the future to save clients from dying. Charlie Hooks is reportedly the lead in the upcoming show.
Universal is pushing the ‘Jumper’ sequel series ‘Impulse.’
In a landmark deal between YouTube Red and Universal Cable Productions, the two production companies will bring ‘Impulse’ to subscribers of the service, a sequel series to the 2008 film ‘Jumper.’
The film starring Hayden Christiansen was based on a 1992 novel of the same name written by Steven Gould. This new project has no confirmed lead yet, but it deals with a 16-year-old misfit girl and her newfound teleportation abilities.
‘Impulse’ is based on the third novel of the ‘Jumper’ book series, and YouTube Red will shoot a pilot for the show before the end of 2016. Episodes will last one hour, although there are no details on how many episodes the first season would have. Jeffrey Lieber will be a writer for the show, and Doug Liman will direct.
Dan Harmon teams up with the ‘Game Grumps’ for an eSports comedy
The creator of ‘Community’ and ‘Rick and Morty’ is coming to YouTube Red with a new show about the eSports scene. Dan Harmon and its production partners Starburns Industries will work on the six-episode show, scheduled to premiere in 2017 on the ‘Game Grumps’ YouTube channel.
Arin ‘Egoraptor’ Hanson and Dan Avidan, the stars of the ‘Game Grumps’ channel, will also produce and star in the untitled series about the world of competitive gaming. Their channel is home to more than 4 million viewers.
YouTube Red’s subscription costs $9.99 per month, and it offers unlimited offline access to the entire platform’s content across all supporting devices.
Source: Variety