One of the most popular video sites in the world is making a big play for original programming. That’s right, YouTube is gonna Step Up with its first ever big budget live-action original series!
Deadline is reporting that Lionsgate TV has landed a straight-to-series order for Step Up, based on the feature film franchise. The Step Up series is being executive produced by Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum, the stars of the original movie. The show will be streamed on YouTube Red, the site’s subscription service.
“I’ve been a fan of the Step Up movies for years and always believed the films would translate into an awesome original series,” said YouTube’s Susanne Daniels. “We know that dance is a hugely successful global category on YouTube, so I’m excited to have a series rooted in such an enormously popular genre on our platform.”
Can a Step Up series really make YouTube a contender with Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime? Not by itself. But if YouTube is looking at a long term programming strategy, then it could reach an audience that isn’t currently being served by the other streaming providers. With Lionsgate’s involvement, Step Up will likely be a big budget series that is comparable to cable network shows.
Related: Step Up: All In – Cast Interviews (Video)
YouTube also unveiled the rest of its current programming plans, which you can read below:
New YouTube Series:
RHETT & LINK’S BUDDY SYSTEM: In this new scripted comedy series, Rhett & Link must go out of their way to regain control of their internet empire from their mutual co-ex-girlfriend who is now an evil Infomercial Queen holding a very big secret over their heads. The series also features Saturday Night Live alums Molly Shannon and Chris Parnell, as well as Leslie Bibb and Page Kennedy.
DAN & PHIL TOUR DOCUMENTARY: Top YouTube comedy stars, Dan Howell and Phil Lester are taking their fans inside their latest world tour, The Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire. With hilarious anecdotes, sketches, and lots of surprises for their fans, we’re bringing Dan and Phil’s successful live stage show exclusively to YouTube Red. They’ll also be giving audiences a behind-the-scenes look with a documentary about the making of the tour.
VLOGUMENTARY: Executive produced by award-winning filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, Maker Studios, and Shay “ShayCarl” Butler, Vlogumentary provides a personal, intimate lens into the world of some of YouTube’s biggest creators and demonstrates the power of the platform in shaping the lives of creative voices, their audiences and the media landscape.
UNTITLED ANIMATED SERIES: Top YouTube creators SeaNanners, TheMrSark and VanossGaming star in an animated comedy series, helmed by Michael Rowe, Emmy Award winning writer of Futurama and Family Guy, about a team of ill-equipped paranormal investigators who struggle to unfold the mysteries of the paranormal universe for their desperate clients.
UNTITLED MICHAEL STEVENS PROJECT: In this new educational series, Vsauce creator Michael Stevens will take a deeper look into the human mind, using real subjects, including himself and special guests, to show some of the most mind-blowing, important and least understood aspects of human nature.
YouTube Renewals:
SCARE PEWDIEPIE – SEASON 2: Produced by Maker Studios, the creator and executive producers of “The Walking Dead” franchise from Skybound Entertainment, and Felix Kjellberg under the Revelmode banner, the second season of the reality adventure series, Scare PewDiePie, promises even more thrills and chills.
FOURSOME – SEASON 2: Produced by AwesomenessTV, the second season of Foursome returns to YouTube Red following Andie’s adventures in the high school dating world. We meet a brand new Andie, a new era of extracurricular hooking up and high school awkwardness.
UNTITLED SMOSH MOVIE: After releasing the episodic series Part Timers on YouTube, Smosh is coming back for a feature-length comedy on YouTube Red. Luckless Charlie (Anthony Padilla) moves into a new apartment, only to find he has a roommate: a self-centered ghost named MAX (Ian Hecox). Max makes Charlie’s life a living hell, until they learn that the only way Max can get into heaven is by working together.
How do you feel about YouTube’s programming lineup? And are you interested in the Step Up series adaptation? Let us know in the comment section below!
