TCA 2018: YouTube Looks To Its “Diverse” Originals To Quell Its Viral Controversies

YouTube hit Winter 2018 TCA with something to prove. Sure, like every other streaming service, they are embarking on the bold mission to establish themselves as a leader in online original content. That’s tough enough, but the YouTube brand is currently mired in controversy. Thanks to home-grown star Logan Paul’s viral, uh, “misstep,” — YouTube exec Robert Kinsel’s description of the stomach churning “suicide forest” video, not mine – the conversation is once more pivoting to ethical concerns about YouTube’s user-generated content. Even though YouTube was at TCA to preview its upcoming line of original content, executive Robert Kinsel and Global Head of Original Content, Susanne Daniels, had to volley tough questions about how YouTube is going to handle these issues. While Daniels could point to her success in investing in online communities and promoting diverse voices to the forefront, Kinsel could only offer platitudes about how they needed to “protect the community of creators, users, and advertisers.”

As for Logan Paul, Kinsel couldn’t even confirm that YouTube has severed ties for good. “We’ve put all his projects on hold indefinitely,” he said, but he also said he couldn’t comment on the future. “We all recognize that a few missteps don’t spoil the work of all the other hard-working creators doing incredible things on YouTube” he said, “As to Logan, obviously we believe that he’s made missteps, unfortunate missteps. He’s expressed remorse very quickly and is learning from the experience. We have taken all the appropriate action.” But Kinsel still said “actions speak louder than words and Logan has the opportunity to prove that.” When pressed later about what YouTube was specifically doing to stop this sort of thing from happening again, Kinsel said that there would be “forthcoming changes” and that we would get specifics. He also hinted that they wanted to create community guidelines that would serve as incentives to keep the user-generated community open, but “misstep” free.

However, the day was really about the spring slate of Originals. Critics got sneak peeks at new series Step Up: High Water, Impulse, Youth & Consequences, and Best Shot. Daniels wanted to highlight that each of these are meant to fit into the emerging YouTube brand, which she described as “premium, entertaining, and diverse content.”

Youth & Consequences star Anna Akana perhaps had the best perspective on what’s great about YouTube and what its limitations are. Akana is an actress who made a name for herself as a YouTube influencer and she expressed concerns that teens now see the gig as an aspiration. She explained that YouTube was a stepping stone for performers like herself and “how not genuine it is is lost on them.” She also went on to say that YouTube Red can challenge Netflix for quality and that both companies understand that her generation doesn’t want to go out to movies, but binge at home.

Impulse is a spin-off of Doug Limon’s Jumper flick and follows a young teen, played by Maddie Hasson, as she discovers that she has the power to teleport. However, don’t expect Hasson’s character, Henry, to go joyriding around the world like the characters in Jumper. Her power manifests itself in the midst of an attempted sexual assault and her abilities will be tied to her trauma. Perhaps understanding the tetchy nature of the series, Limon reached out to female showrunner Lauren LeFranc to take over the series after the pilot. The YouTube generation’s influence can be felt on Impulse in how it frames the attempted rape: there’s a warning ahead of the episode and a call-to-action at the end directing viewers to RAINN.

Step Up: High Water, debuting on YouTube Red in full on January 31, is, as its Creator, Executive Producer, and Showrunner Holly Sorensen put it, “not a dance show — it’s a show about dancers.” The series looks to be an all-out musical explosion, which original songs from PooBear, singing from Naya Rivera, and an agnostic approach to dance (i.e. you’ll see it all). The series looks to dig into the vibrant dance and music communities on YouTube. So far, some of YouTube’s greatest successes on the Originals side have come with the help of pop stars like Katy Perry and Demi Lovato. Original Step Up stars Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum executive produce the series, but couldn’t make it out to press tour.

Best Shot is an 8-episode documentary series produced by Lebron James where former NBA star Jay Williams uses basketball to help mentor at-risk youth. During the panel, he opened up about his own struggles and described how he learned through a friend’s similar trauma, that everyone’s got some sort of pain they’re dealing with.

Again, all four series hit the themes Daniels was pushing: innovation, community, and diversity. How the Original slate’s ambition matches up with the stumbles of YouTube’s traditional user-generated community will remain to be seen. Nevertheless, YouTube’s Originals reflect the good that has come out of that user-generated pool. Because for all the Peppa Pig bleach videos and suicide forest dreg, YouTube’s been so successful because there is a great amount of good that’s come out of its user-generated content. Namely, there’s been great talent, great creativity, and great conversations about the important topics affecting today’s youth. Can all that good outweigh the bad? We’ll see.