AsNetflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon, Apple and morewage the streaming wars, there’s another battle brewing among newer platforms promising short-form programming.
Facebook Watch and Snapchat, both of which are completely free, currently boast numerous short-form shows with stars likeJessica BielandElizabeth Olsen. Facebook Watch shows typically include a running time of about 15-20 minutes per episode, while Snapchat Original episodes average five minutes in length.
And come April 2020, up-and-coming streaming networkQuibi, short for “quick bites,” will hit phones — and it has has secured support from Hollywood heavyweights fromChrissy TeigenandAndy CohentoJennifer LopezandZac Efron.
Quibi founder and chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg (who co-founded DreamWorks Animation) and CEO Meg Whitman (who previously served as CEO and president of Hewlett Packard) are leading this new platform, which has already garnered$1 billionin investments.
Once released on April 6, users can pay $4.99 to access the platform with advertising or $7.99 without it. It’s set to feature 7,000 pieces of content at launch, according toVanity Fair. It will also feature both vertical and horizontal video,Thrillistreported.
Andy Cohen, Jennifer Lopez and Zach Efron.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty; Roy Rochlin/WireImage; Samir Hussein/WireImage
Quibi’s announced content includes Cohen, 51, inThe Andy Cohen Diaries,an animated series chronicling iconic and untold moments from his life. Efron, 32, will go off the grid inKilling Zac Efron, which follows the heartthrob and his brother in the jungle of a remote island as they attempt to survive without food, water and technology for several days.
InThanks a Million, stars like Lopez,Kristen BellandTracy Morganwill choose an influential person from their early lives and give them $100,000 each, as long as that person passes down $50,000 to a similar person and that person hands off $25,000, and so on, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
PEOPLE’s formerSexiest Man AliveIdris Elbawill star in stunt-driving seriesElba vs. Blockwith professional rally driver Ken Block. Teigen, meanwhile, will preside over real-life small claims cases inChrissy’s Court, which also features her mom as the bailiff.
Steve Granitz/WireImage
While Quibi’s star-studded programming does not arrive until April 2020, Facebook Watch and Snapchat have plenty of bingeable content available now. Here are the shows worth watching.
Facebook Watch
Facebook Watch’s most buzzed-about series at the moment isRed Table Talk.Thetalk showfeaturesJada Pinkett Smith, her daughterWillow Smith, and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris as they sit down with fellow celebrities for a wide ranging list of topics. In one interview,Jordyn Woodsfinally set the record straight on the cheating scandal withKhloé Kardashian‘s exTristan Thompson.
In the scripted drama seriesSorry For Your Loss,Olsen, 30, stars as a young widow struggling to cope with the unexpected death of her husband. The show has aired two 10-episode seasons and also featuresStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkers‘ Kelly Marie Tran.
Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris.Facebook Watch
Elizabeth Olsen in Sorry For Your Loss.Facebook Watch
Season 1 ofLimetown, which is based on the scripted podcast of the same name, stars Biel, 37, as Lia Haddock, a journalist for American Public Radio as she unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of over 300 people at a neuroscience research community in Tennessee.
In the 14-episode horror seriesThe Birch, Midori Francis, Xaria Dotson, and Dempsey Bryk play three teenagers whose lives intersect with a blood-thirsty monster lurking in the woods, the Birch. Sworn to protect the vulnerable wherever she is summoned, the Birch demands a dangerous toll for her services.
Xaria Dotson in The Birch.Facebook Watch
Also coming in 2020 to Facebook Watch is Steve Harvey’snew daytime talk show,STEVE on Watch. Plus, a documentary series aboutChristiano Ronaldois in development.
Snapchat
In documentary seriesEndless Summer, influencers Summer McKeen and Dylan Jordan try to balance love, friends, family, and fame in this intimate snapshot of their lives in Laguna Beach, California. The show reached over 28 million unique viewers in its first season, and more than 90 percent of Snapchatters who completed the first season then watched season 2 in its first month.
On Dec. 21, Snapchat will premiere the documentary seriesTekashi 69 vs.The World, which traces the rise and fall of controversial rapperTekashi 6ix9ine, from his earliest days growing up in Brooklyn, trough his chart-topping career and star-studded collaborations, to his trouble with the FBI andeventual incarceration.
Come 2020, Snapchat will debut even more documentary series, includingWhile Black with MK Asante,Honeybeez,PlayersandNikita Unfiltered.
Quibi is available on Apr. 6, while Facebook Watch and Snapchat are available to stream now.
source: people.com
