YouTube Canada has unveiled a slate of new and returning creator shows, offering one of the clearest signs yet that the platform intends to keep ambitious talent making programmes for its own audience as rival streamers pursue YouTube personalities.
Announced at its YouTube Features event, the slate spans food, sport, comedy, lifestyle and podcasts. It includes Iron Chef Dad vs. The Internet, starring chef Susur Lee and his son Jet Bent-Lee; Roots, in which creators Jeenie and Johnny explore their Korean heritage as new parents; and SubwayTakes Toronto, an expanded version of Kareem Rahma’s interview format. YouTube Canada’s announcement also lists a third season of Alexandra Gater’s Dream Apartment Makeover.
Other projects include Becky and Miranda, a dark comedy created by and starring Julie Nolke; Matty Matheson’s Matty’s Farm; and Sarah’s Side Quests, in which hockey player Sarah Nurse learns new skills from athletes, experts and creators. Olympic figure skater Tessa Virtue will host the interview podcast Virtuoso, while the Kalogeras Sisters will take on unfamiliar jobs in Hardly Workin’.
Nicole Bell, head of YouTube Canada, framed the slate around the control creators retain over their work. “On YouTube, you get to greenlight your show, and we provide the largest creative canvas for you to create and connect directly with fans both at home and around the world,” she wrote. Bell added that the shows demonstrate “what’s possible when creators have the freedom to build on their own terms.”
The Canadian slate develops a message evident at YouTube’s US Brandcast earlier this year, where the company presented exclusive creator shows and sponsorship opportunities to advertisers. Both events position creator programmes as a draw for audiences and brands on YouTube itself.
YouTube has not stated that the Canadian slate is a direct response to any particular deal. But by giving creator shows a prominent place in its presentation, and emphasising creators’ ability to greenlight and own their vision, it is making a case for why they should continue to build their next shows on the platform.
