Snapchat is prepping its next batch of original shortform series.
The new slate, which will begin to premiere this fall, features a heavy dose of unscripted series, as well as two projects that dive into the subject of mental health. Further, Snapchat has renewed docuseries Bringing Up Bhabie, scripted drama Two Sides and scripted comedy Kappa Crypto.
Snap head of original content Sean Mills says that the company is experimenting with new formats. “We’ve been seeing some really exciting new behaviors emerge,” Mills says of the company’s early Snap Originals. “A lot of them are around people coming to the page with greater intention to watch these shows and binge watching and building greater loyalty to franchises that we’ve been able to build.” For example, Mills says that nearly 20 percent of people who completed the first episode of Two Sides on its premiere day went on to watch all 10 episodes that day. Bringing Up Bhabie, meanwhile, had over 10 million unique viewers for premiere episode during its first 24 hours.
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Among the new shows, which will begin to premiere this fall, is The Honeybeez, which hails from Leftfield Pictures and follows Alabama State’s plus-size dance squad; Driven, from Big Fish Entertainment, about the people at PTG365 who customize cars for their clients; and scripted series Players, from Loud Labs Media and One Push, about the son of an NBA player who relocates to Los Angeles after his dad is traded.
Snapchat has also ordered Nikita Unfiltered, from Sirens Media, a docuseries that follows transgender beauty influencer Nikita Dragun; and Tekashi69 VS the World from Complex, a docuseries that will follow the controversial rapper’s path from Brooklyn to incarceration.
Two series, anthology series Mind Yourself from Barcroft Studios and scripted comedy Everything’s Fine from Paul Feig’s Powderkeg, deal with mental health. The former will tell the story of a young person suffering from or recovering from a mental health issue, while the latter will look at a college student dealing with bipolar disorder and trying to make it in the music industry. Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy will serve as a producer and music supervisor on Everything’s Fine and will bring original music to the show.
“Mental health is something we think a lot about at the company,” says Mills. “We believe in telling great compelling stories with that in mind in different ways. It’s an issue that our audience cares a lot about.”
Snapchat has also ordered Save Me, from Loud Labs Media and One Push, about an isolated homeschooler who takes it upon himself to find his missing online classmate and crush.
All Snap Originals will debut on the app’s four-year-old Discover tab.
