The well-renowned site known for it's ratchet urban lifestyle videos is about to make it's debut on television.
WorldStarHipHop has signed a deal with Adult Swim to start a new comedy pilot based on the website which will explore sex, music and much more, according to The Wrap.
The show will be executive produced by Q, the founder of WorldStar, and Devon Shepard, who produces Weeds and House of Lies for Showtime. Here's what Shepard told The Daily Dot about what the show will specifically entail:
“It’s scripted, kind of a mockumentary, a day in the life of your favorite rappers,” he adds. “What would Rick Ross do on his day off? Well, maybe he gets involved in a violent game of Dungeons and Dragons. We’re going to come up with these things that you wouldn’t expect from hip-hop artists, with a little bit of sketch. …It will look and feel almost like you're watching the website on your TV.”Based on that description, this show will be a blacker version of 30 Rock. Hot 97 currently has it's own mockumentary series which airs on VH1, so it wouldn't be the first time this kind of concept was thought of. The key to success for this show will be to garner as many guest appearances as possible from big hip-hop acts.
Would big hip-hop acts be more willing to appear on a WorldStar mockumentary show or a Hot 97 show?
It depends on which kind of audience the act is trying to reach and what kind of comedy they're willing to take part in. The Hot 97 series is way more mainstream than this new WorldStar series which will most certainly involve more vulgarity and controversy given WorldStar's involvement and the network which is airing the show.
Will the show be able to pick up viewers based on the brand?
I wonder how this will work out. People log on to WorldStar to watch fights, naked women and normal people involved in crazy situations. Does WorldStar have enough brand loyalty and fans who'll support a WorldStar TV show that has nothing to do with what the brand is known for?
What should WorldStar have done?
I like the fact that WorldStar is expanding it's empire into scripted comedy television but their first foray into television should've involved a clip show similar to "Ridiculousness" or "America's Funniest Home Videos".
WorldStar has a vast array of fight videos in it's library. Why not use it to create an unscripted show which features the best clips in the site's history and interviews with the subjects involved? It seems like a more logical fit to me especially because media companies are looking for ways to garner large audiences of young males without spending billions on sports rights. This kind of show would have a built-in audience who would stay loyal to the brand. I'm not sure this scripted comedy show fits those same fans' interests as a clip show would've.
Is Adult Swim a good fit?
Yes. Adult Swim is the only vulgar, mainstream television network I could think of which would fit WorldStar's audience and interests. The old BET which featured booty-shaking and nonsensical rapping would've caved for this kind of programming but the network has transformed into a more family-friendly female oriented enterprise since Viacom has taken them on.
How can WorldStar become more mainstream?
It's already happening. Deals like this will help WorldStar excel as a symbol of hip hop culture to mainstream America. Some other things the site is getting involved in to move away from being solely known for fight videos include:
- A mature cartoon series
- Mini-documentaries that are featured on the site
- A future movie collaboration with Paramount Pictures
- Music video debuts for some of the biggest artists in hip hop
- A partnership with Interscope Records
All they need at this point is some millionaire investors who can help move the brand forward and strategically place WorldStar into a different stratosphere than it currently sits.
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