Grace Helbig - H 2015
AP Images/InvisionE! is moving forward with its Grace Helbig talk show. The cable network announced Monday that it’s given a series order to The Grace Helbig Project (working title), a weekly vehicle for the YouTube star set to debut in April.
“This show is a fresh take on the conventional talk show with a very unconventional host who has already captured an enormous fan base of young viewers on the web,” said network executive vp original programming and development Jeff Olde. “As we continue to seek out programming that offers a rich multiplatform experience, we are excited to launch this forward-thinking talk show that speaks so perfectly to our audience and to the core of E!’s pop culture brand.”
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Helbig has been parlaying her online fame into mainstream success for some time, amassing more than 2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel It’s Grace and navigating a hybrid talk and comedy project. It also marks E!’s first big move into talk since the end of Chelsea Lately in August — though Helbig will air in primetime.
“Congratulations to E! for giving an internet-obsessed introvert a talk show,” said Helbig. “I’m looking forward to working with humans.”
Billed as a different kind of viewing experience, and a clear effort to capitalize on the kind of audience engagement Helbig has been able to pull off online, the show will incorporate viewer Tweets, Vines and Instagrams. Celebrity guests will be interviewed in a slew of alternate locations (a car or a grocery store) in lieu of the traditional studio stage.
The Grace Helbig Project is produced by Embassy Row, with Michael Davies, Amanda McPhillips and Ken Treusch joining Helbig as executive producers.
Helbig is repped by WME.
