News

It’s not often that “Game Changer” host Sam Reich is the person on the show’s colorful set made to look anxious. But the latest episode of the Dropout series begins with not just a push-in but some vignetting on Reich as he stares down the barrel of the endless wheel of content creation, coming up with “Game Changer” ideas one after the other, “backing myself further and further into a corner where it’s harder and harder to be original.” It’s real Season 7 problems.

Enter players Mike Trapp, Rekha Shankar, and Jordan Myrick, whom Reich deputized to produce the latest episode of “Game Changer” — or really, to produce the things that keep “Game Changer” inside of a virtuous cycle for online comedy series. The show’s segments get broken out into social clips, and those that perform well drive viewers who discover “Game Changer,” “Make Some Noise,...

Spoiler alert: Details follow for Season 7, Episode 4 of “Game Changer,” which premiered May 19 on Dropout.

There’s no such thing as a typical episode of “Game Changer.”

However, in Season 7, Episode 4 — aptly titled “Crowd Control” — the chaos wasn’t just allowed; it was actively summoned. Filmed for the first time in front of a live studio audience, the Dropout original didn’t merely break the fourth wall — it obliterated it, interviewed it, and then asked if it regretted its neck tattoo.

Hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, the episode opens in stark black-and-white with an ominous jazz drumbeat, evoking a Birdman-esque aesthetic that signals to longtime fans: this is not your standard studio taping. The mood quickly shifts as Reich introduces the episode’s contestants — stand-up comedians Jeff Arcuri, Gianmarco Soresi and Josh Johnson — all visibly bracing for the unpredictable storm ahead.

Ask Me About My…

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I'll be the first to admit that, when it comes to horror movies, I'm a bit of a wimp. When I was a kid, "The Exorcist" was re-released, and the TV commercials gave me nightmares for several weeks. With that said, a movie like Josh Ruben's "Heart Eyes" is approachable even for scared little babies like me, which makes it utterly unsurprising that the movie is performing quite well on Netflix, according to FlixPatrol.

"Heart Eyes" came out on February 7, 2025 — and now that its theatrical release is finished, it's found a home on Netflix and is getting a lot of attention ... as it should! The horror-romance hybrid centers on Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt), a young woman who works for a jewelry company and, fresh off a breakup, ends up meeting consulting advertiser Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding) in a professional context ... only for sparks to quickly fly. However, things go...

Spoiler alert: Details follow for Season 7, Episode 3 of “Game Changer,” which premiered May 5 on Dropout.

The bit-o-meter is dead. The Seal songs have been sung — twice. And three comedians just bared their souls (and navels) in what may be one of the most hilariously heartfelt episodes of “Game Changer” yet.

Season 7, Episode 3 of Dropout’s genre-defying series, titled “Earnest-est,” is a fever dream of vulnerability, theatricality and chaos — the kind that only host and Dropout CEO Sam Reich could mastermind.

This week’s contestants — Ally Beardsley (they/them), Zac Oyama (he/him) and Lisa Gilroy (she/her) — are no strangers to the Dropout universe. But none were prepared for what Sam had in store: a sincerity-based gauntlet where the only way to win was to drop the bits and dig into their tender comic cores.

The Bit-o-Meter Dies, So Sincerity Lives

The episode opens with the debut of the bit-o-meter,...

With creator entrepreneurialism at an all-time high, more YouTube channels turned media companies have been exploring how to bulk up monetization and maintain control over their content by offering paywalled extras to fans. But going off-platform, away from things like YouTube’s Channel Memberships and Patreon’s monthly subscriptions, isn’t easy.

Especially when you’re trying to design an entire custom streaming service.

That’s the problem Dropout faced. In 2020, the digital comedy brand–at that point called CollegeHumor, with a streaming service component named Dropout–was cut by its corporate owner, Iac/InterActiveCorp. Then-Chief Creative Officer Sam Reich bought it, and as he prepared for a revamp urged fans to stay subscribed to Dropout, calling it “the #1 way you can support me.”

Now, five years later, Reich is CEO, Dropout has 15 million subscribers on YouTube with successful shows like Dimension 20 and Game Changer, and it has a...

Vimeo is enhancing its SVOD business with a new solution that aims to address common creator frustrations. The name of that product is Vimeo Streaming, and it’s designed for creators who are looking to launch and monetize dedicated subscription services for their content.

A visit to the Vimeo Streaming homepage reveals that the platform’s app-building tools have already been used to launch more than 5,400 apps, which have collectively attracted over 13 million subscribers while hauling in $429 million in annual revenue. Notable Vimeo Streaming entries include Dropout, The Try Guys’ 2nd Try, and Sidemen Xix.

Vimeo’s history as a monetization solution for creators dates back more than a decade. The pay-per-view hub known as Vimeo On Demand was once used to distribute Oscar-worthy fare and indie favorites, as well as plenty of creator-led productions. After acquiring digital distribution platform Vhx, Vimeo made a more concerted move toward the streaming...

Dropout has revealed its Emmy submissions for this year’s awards consideration — and they’re shaking things up.

The indie streamer’s improv-based interview show “Very Important People” is officially in the running for an Emmy, this time in a brand-new category. The series, hosted by comedian Vic Michaelis, has been submitted for consideration in the outstanding talk series category for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, where it will face off against ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and last year’s winner, Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” This marks the show’s first time competing in the full-length variety talk category after previously entering in short form fields.

Meanwhile, Dropout’s flagship game show series “Game Changer,” which returns for its seventh season on April 7, will not be eligible for Emmy consideration this year. Under Television Academy rules for the outstanding game show category,...

If you ask any digital video creator about their biggest business concern, it will likely come down to reliability.

TikTok and Instagram can drive reach and visibility, but don’t offer meaningful revenue. YouTube does, but creators often feel like they are playing catch up with the algorithm, rather than controlling their own destinies.

The video technology platform Vimeo thinks it can offer creators another option: A turnkey product that will let every creator quickly launch their own subscription streaming service.

Called Vimeo Streaming, it will let any video creator launch a service and apps without any coding experience. The service includes tiered membership options, including access to live events and merchandise; custom video bumpers to promote specific projects or campaigns; piracy protection; advanced data analytics; and AI-powered translations to enable global reach.

“Vimeo is proud to serve the professional creator. With our new Vimeo Streaming release, we are giving...

“Game Changer” is officially returning on Dropout starting April 7, with the ten-episode Season 7 dropping episodes biweekly on the comedy streaming service.

This season’s cast includes Brennan Lee Mulligan, Vic Michaelis, Lisa Gilroy, Lou Wilson and Oscar Montoya as the game show changes its premise every episode. Last season, the contestants faced unpredictable challenges revolving around art, bingo, trivia questions and false personas.

The show is hosted and executive produced by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, with co-executive producers including Chloe Badner, Ryan Creamer, Sam Geer, Mulligan and Paul Robalino. Sam Geer edited and directed all ten episodes.

In other TV Roundup News:

Executive News

Eli Baldrige has been promoted to EVP of development at A. Smith & Co. Productions, where he will continue to lead unscripted television.

Since joining the company in 2018, Aldridge has served as VP and SVP of development. He spearheaded the development process on Magnolia Network’s...

The premiere date for “School Spirits” Season 2 is set for Thursday, Jan. 30, with the first three episodes releasing on Paramount+.

The new season of “School Spirits” kicks off after the first season’s cliffhanger, following Maddie Nears (Peyton List), who is still stuck in the afterlife, as she tries to win over Simon (Kristian Ventura) to help search for her missing body. The cast also includes Spencer MacPherson, Kiara Pichardo, Sarah Yarkin, Nick Pugliese, Rainbow Wedell, Josh Zuckerman and Milo Manheim.

New episodes of the eight-episode season will drop weekly on Thursdays. Awesomeness TV produces with creators Nate Trinrud and Megan Trinrud as executive producers.

Watch the trailer below.

Also in this week’s TV News Roundup:

First Looks/Trailers

The spirited judges are back in the official trailer for “Tribunal Justice” Season 2.

“Tribunal Justice” follows three judges as they take on real cases and debate the outcome. They don’t always see eye-to-eye,...

Back in my college days, I was a theatre performance major and became the first woman to serve as captain in the history of my underfunded state school's improv team (no one who reads /Film regularly is shocked), which meant I spent an excessive amount of time on YouTube consuming sketch clips and illegally uploaded episodes of "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" This fixation led me to the CollegeHumor channel and I became obsessed with a show called "Hello My Name Is." Each episode had Josh Ruben being transformed into a new character with prosthetics, wigs, and costumes, after which he would have to sit down for an improvised, in-character interview upon seeing the result. Nearly 15 years later, my college friends and I still quote a few of the episodes.

"Hello My Name Is." ended long ago, but "Very Important People" hosted by Vic Michaelis has continued to carry that...

Dropout’s “Very Important People” has a very important list of guest stars for Season 2. That starts off with Anna Garcia (“Superstore”), who plays “Zeke Aaron McKinley,” fourth grader who was turned into a rock formation after making a wish. Also set to appear this season: Comedians including Nicole Byer, Chris Redd, Bobby Moynihan, John Early, Kate Berlant, Paul F. Tompkins, Echo Kellum, Lisa Gilroy and Danielle Pinnock.

The premise of the comedic talk show, which comes from the team formerly known as CollegeHumor and host Vic Michaelis, is simple. It starts out as a chat between Michaelis and their guest — who has to come up with the character they’re going to play during the interview in five minutes, following a blind makeover.

Garcia is one of several “VIP” Season 1 guests and fellow Dropout stars who have returned this time, along with the well-known stars like Byer, Moynihan and Tompkins.

Indie streamer Dropout has set the full guest-star lineup for the second season of its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People.”

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

Following the Aug. 14 announcement of the guest stars for the first eight episodes of “Very Important People” Season 2, which debuts Nov. 7, Dropout has confirmed that Episodes 9-16 will star Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live”), Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”), Echo Kellum (“Arrow”), Corin Wells (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Alex Song-Xia (“Rick & Morty”) and Paul Robalino (“Smarypants”).

Additionally, “Very Important People” Season 1 guests Brennan Lee Mulligan (“Dimension 20”), Izzy Roland (“Sex Lives of College Girls”) and Lisa Gilroy (“Glamorous”) will return in new roles.

Left to right: Bobby Moynihan,...

Adam Conover returns to his CollegeHumor roots this week with new standup comedy special, “Adam Conover: Unmedicated,” which delves into the comedian’s history with Add and his subsequent Adderall addiction.

The show, which launched Wednesday, is streaming on Dropout (the indie platform owned by the rebranded CollegeHumor company) as part of its new “Dropout Presents” series of standup specials, which debuted earlier this year with Hank Green’s special in June.

Conover told Variety he’s been wanting to do this project for the past 15 years. After all that time, what made the “Adam Ruins Everything” star pick the niche streamer as the place to house his first standup special over a Netflix, Hulu, Max or Amazon — apart from the ties that bind him to Dropout CEO Sam Reich and the old CollegeHumor crew whom he began his career with?

First, the subject matter.

“A lot of people know me as an informational comedian,...

The streaming service Dropout had a banner year in 2023, and its latest original is an example of the progress it has made. The brand previously known as CollegeHumor has announced Gastronauts, an upcoming cooking show that will feature talent from TV and TikTok.

Gastronauts, hosted by Jordan Myrick, puts a Dropout spin on the time-honored cooking competition format. In each episode, chefs who previously appeared on TV shows like Chopped and Supermarket Stakeout are presented with ridiculous challenges.

After working with ingredients like dinosaur nuggets and vending machine snacks, the competitors present their work to the judges, who Dropout subscribers will recognize from hit shows like Game Changers and Dimension 20. Familiar faces like Sam Reich (who is Dropout’s CEO) and Brennan Lee Mulligan will be joined by newcomers like TikTok star Kendahl Landreth. The Gastronauts host has a significant TikTok following as well.

Dropout’s efforts to attract...

Indie streamer Dropout has set the second season premiere date for its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People,” and revealed five new guest stars joining the lineup for Season 2.

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

New cast members booked for an improvised interview in “Very Important People” Season 2 include John Early (“Search Party”) and Kate Berlant (“Don’t Worry Darling”), Danielle Pinnock (“Ghosts”), Chris Redd (“Saturday Night Live”) and Paul F. Tompkins (“Bojack Horseman”).

Left to right: Kate Berlant (Photo Credit: Sela Shiloni); Danielle Pinnock (Courtesy photo); Paul F. Tompkins (Courtesy photo); Chris Redd (Photo Credit: Chris Haston/NBC); John Early (Photo Credit: Michael Tyrone Delaney).

Dropout will launch the first episode of “Very Important People” Season 2 Nov.

There’s a meta moment in Season 8 of “Jet Lag: The Game” when the stars of the unscripted travel competition series are seated on a plane behind a fan watching an episode of the show on the streaming platform Nebula. Catching a “Jet Lag” viewer in the wild would have been unthinkable when the series bowed in 2022. But not anymore.

Nebula is part of a wave of streamer startups that are owned by content creators and cater to niche audiences and passionate fandoms. The list also includes Dropout (formerly known as CollegeHumor) and Beacon, a tabletop roleplaying game-focused service that evolved from the YouTube channel Critical Role (which boasts 2.3 million subscribers).

These outlets bill themselves as vehicles for reaching the super fans of their niches, and they wear their independence like a badge: No venture capitalists or pesky parent companies to answer to.

Sam Reich, CEO of Dropout, draws a...

Colleen Kilpatrick’s Collective Publicity has tapped Hiltzik Strategies’ Nicole Dukoff as associate director at the PR firm.

Dukoff’s addition marks the company’s first hire since Collective founder and CEO Kilpatrick launched the firm in September 2023 as a one-person operation.

The hire comes as Kilpatrick has been leading the FYC campaign for her most noteworthy client, comedy streaming platform Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor), which airs series including “Game Changer,” “Very Important People” and “Dimension 20,” and handling overall expansion of traditional press coverage for the Sam Reich-led company.

Among Collective’s other clients are Lauren Mandel’s production company Disco Nap, which recently put on the Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers-hosted Las Culturistas Culture Awards, and “There’s Treasure Inside” author Jon Collins-Black, who is about to launch a nationwide multi-million dollar treasure hunt tied to the release of his new book. Collective also works closely with...

By now everyone in Hollywood seems to accept that streaming is a cutthroat business. It may not be zero sum (most studies suggest that consumers will pay for about four streaming services at a time), but it is mighty close to it. And with Netflix holding a secure lock on one of those subscriptions for most consumers, there is increasingly little room for error.

But the streaming wars between giant services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and others also obscure an entire ecosystem of streaming offerings that are trying to carve out their own niches in an increasingly difficult environment.

For all the press that the big streaming platforms get, there is a surprisingly vibrant world of boutique and specialty streamers chasing loyal and engaged fans at a much smaller scale. And new players continue to enter the space.

In the world of comedy, there is Dropout,...

Spoiler Alert for “Ratfish (Part 1)”: Coming out in 2019 after the success of unscripted content for Dropout, Game Changer was an instant hit on the platform. Now, six seasons later, host Sam Reich is still working to bring “consistently original” ideas to the show with no signs of stopping. “Every season, I feel like I fly a little closer to the sun,” says Reich. “And every season, the response I get from the audience is like, ‘This was the best yet,’ which is a very dangerous thing to tell me as I push it more and more, further and further.”

Hosted by Reich, Dropout’s Game Changer is a game show where the premise changes every episode and the contestants must learn the rules as they play. Among the assortment of games, season 6 has seen contestants search for buzzers in a simple trivia game-turned-scavenger hunt for “Beat the Buzzer”, trapped...

Lots of people started watching “The Circle” during the Covid lockdown. But only Sam Reich and the team at Dropout have been able to fully create their own parody version, one that is even a little bit truer to the spirit of the idea. For the “Game Changer” Season 6 two-part finale, “The Ratfish,” the team rented out a hotel floor’s worth of rooms and tricked them out to reflect the vibes of seven Dropout cast members playing a guessing game of sorts.

Each came up with a fake persona and, in order to win a billboard for whatever they wanted to promote on Hollywood Boulevard, were given a goal: Interact with each other via chat to correctly guess which persona is being played by which cast member without being ID’d themselves — but of course they were not told that the eighth player Among Us (or them) wasn’t...

What might make a game of bingo more interesting than your standard gymnasium raffle affair? Well, comedians answering humorous prompts to get bingo balls would spice it up. So would a secret set of players hidden in a green room looking to achieve bingo — not by checking off numbers on a board, but by tracking the quirks and behavior of their friends playing the first game. So would an even more secret set of players trying to get bingo based on the green room players’ interactions with each other and the film crew. That’s the idea behind “Bingo,” the fifth episode in Season 6 of the relentlessly inventive show “Game Changer.”

The Dropout series is described by host Sam Reich at the top of each episode as “the only game show where the game changes every show.” Six seasons of new games — and new twists on “game samers” — lock the...

Hi, intrepid heroes! The season finale of indie streamer Dropout’s highly popular “Dungeons & Dragons” series “Dimension 20” drops Wednesday, bringing what creator and game master Brennan Lee Mulligan promises to be an epic conclusion to “Fantasy High: Junior Year.”

Ahead of the episode’s release on Dropout (which is also the name of the platform’s parent company that rebranded from College Humor last fall under CEO Sam Reich) Mulligan spoke with Variety about the success of the “Dimension 20” franchise, including the scheduled Jan. 24, 2025, live show’s almost-immediate sellout of Madison Square Garden last month, the fact the streaming series is not yet eligible to be submitted for an Emmy, and the next season of “Dimension 20’s” popular “Dungeons and Drag Queens” series.

Let’s start with the big one: What was it like to sell out Madison Square Garden for the live show of “Dimension 20,...

There are a lot of streamers out there, but none quite like Dropout. “I’m a determined hipster,” jokes Dropout owner and CEO Sam Reich. “I can’t do anything that the rest of the industry is doing — I’m just too determined to be unique.”

Unique is not difficult to find on Dropout, which was created in 2018 as a subscription service for CollegeHumor content before CHMedia rebranded to Dropout in 2023. Take Game Changer, hosted by Reich, where the premise changes every episode and the contestants must learn the rules as they play. This season alone has seen an elaborate version of Simon Says, a parody of The Newlywed Game and a simple trivia game-turned-scavenger hunt where contestants need to search the studio for buzzers to answer questions.

There’s also Dimension 20, an anthology series where a group of improvisors play role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. “It all...

The two-part season finale of Dropout’s hit game series “Game Changer,” originally scheduled to premiere on May 20, has been delayed “to allow for more time in the edit.”

On Monday, Sam Reich, host and Dropout CEO, announced on social media: “Scheduling Update: we’re pushing the 2-part Game Changer season finale to allow for more time in the edit. It’s one of the most complicated episodes we’ve ever done (you’ll see why). Part 1 will now launch on Dropout on June 3rd, and Part 2 on June 17th.”

Despite the delay, the sixth season, which featured seven episodes, surpasses the six-episode minimum requirement for submission for the outstanding game show category. According to current Emmy rules, the two-part finale will compete as part of the upcoming seventh season when it airs during the next eligibility window. This is consistent with other competition and game shows with multiple seasons competing as one,...

Indie streaming platform Dropout, formerly known as CollegeHumor, is vying for a spotlight at this year’s Primetime Emmys with an ambitious campaign to secure its first major nominations. With a passionate and niche audience, Variety has learned exclusively about Dropout’s top contenders submitted for Emmy love, including the innovative game show “Game Changer” and the unique interview series “Very Important People.”

“Game Changer,” a standout series hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, turns the traditional game show format on its head. Each episode introduces a new game, but the twist is that the three comedian contestants are clueless about the rules until the game begins. The blend of improv comedy and fierce competition has not only captivated audiences but also spawned three successful spinoffs: “Dirty Laundry,” “Make Some Noise” and “Play It by Ear.”

Two of the season’s funniest episodes, “Sam Says 3” (featuring Jacob Wysocki’s epic...

CollegeHumor is dropping out of school, so to speak.

As the comedy brand shifts its distribution strategy under current CEO Sam Reich, it is giving up its original handle to rebrand as Dropout. That name, which previously applied to the company’s subscription service, will now become its official moniker.

Reich announced the rebrand in a video on the channel formerly known as CollegeHumor (which counts 14.7 million subscribers). Reich said that his company’s new name will represent its people-driven approach, “without any corporations, networks, or advertisers to muck it up.”

Dropout’s history dates back to 1999, when it was launched by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen. YouTube arrived in 2005, and the company then known as CollegeHumor saw its stock go up. It pulled in billions of views, attracted guest stars like Michelle Obama, and even got its own television show with the TruTV original Adam Ruins Everything.

The...

Game Changer host, writer, and creator Sam Reich (Adam Ruins Everything) starts each episode with the same intro: “The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning.” It could be interpreted as some deep proverb, but really it’s just describing the deceptively simple concept of the original game show on Dropout, CollegeHumor’s subscription streaming service.

In 2018, CollegeHumor launched the streamer in an attempt to become less reliant on YouTube — at the time, Reich told Wired that the company was experiencing “a little creative repression” because of increased restrictions on YouTube and audience-friendly demands of network TV. On Dropout, the CollegeHumor crew was (and still is) free to do whatever they want without being beholden to advertisers, instead supported by subscribers paying between $4.99 and $5.99 a month or $47.99 to $59.99 a year.

The amount of versatility within a single premise is the test of a truly great game show. “Jeopardy” has the clues, “Match Game” has the risqué answers, and “Survivor” has the challenges. But maybe the most versatile game show on air right now — and going for the Emmy that “Jeopardy” has won the last three years running — is one where its entire DNA is based on being a radically different competition every episode.

Now in its fifth season on Dropout (the streaming heir to CollegeHumor), “Game Changer” features a rotating cast of improvisers standing at some very colorful podiums without any idea of the game they’re about to play. “The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning,” host and series creator Sam Reich says at the top of every episode. The Dropout...

People love a good game show. It's why series like Jeopardy, Survivor, and Family Feud are so universally recognized and even if you don't watch those shows regularly, the rules and gameplay are already a part of the cultural zeitgeist. Fans of game shows can rely on mainstay series to keep them satiated, but the enormity of the popular brands means that one of the best game shows on television today might be flying under your radar. Game Changer is one of the most innovative and exciting game shows ever, and you might not have ever heard of it before. The premise of the game is simple yet effective: each episode of the show features a new set of rules that contestants are unaware of until they're actually in the game. That means that the game is different week-to-week, and the potential is limitless. How would a show that changes premises every episode even work?...

Freeform has decided not to move forward with the dark comedy series “Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective” from executive producer Joss Whedon, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

Representatives for Freeform did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on when and why the show, which had been in development at the Disney-owned cable channel since June 2018, had been scrapped. A rep for Whedon had no comment.

According to an individual familiar with the project, Whedon did not have a direct or substantial role in developing the half-hour series, which was created by comedians Siobhan Thompson and Rebecca Drysdale. The show was to center on Pippa Smith, a twentysomething who played a former kid sleuth on TV, “as she deals with relationships, addiction and being too dang old for the detecting game.” Pippa would solve a new case in every episode, “while unraveling a larger mystery and attempting to navigate her messy personal life.

Ch Media, the parent of CollegeHumor, has signed a multi-faceted partnership with Rooster Teeth’s podcast network, The Roost, which will henceforth provide ad sales, merchandise, and podcast distribution services for the legacy sketch comedy brand.

All told, The Roost reps 70 video-centric series that garner 290 million monthly impressions, it says. Going forward, it will work to expand podcast distribution and ad sales support for four of CollegeHumor's brands, including eponymous flagship vertical CollegeHumor, gaming-focused Dorkly, nerd and fandom-focused game show Um, Actually, and Dimension 20 (pictured above). The Roost will also launch a new merch storefront for CollegeHumor.

All told, CollegeHumor says it has over 25 million subscribers and reaches over 10 million unique monthly viewers on YouTube.

“This partnership brings together two of the most innovative and entrepreneurial legacy internet brands, Rooster Teeth and CollegeHumor,” A.J. Felciano, Rooster Teeth’s newly-tapped head of The Roost, said in a statement. “What...

The future of CollegeHumor, the pioneering comedy website that rose to prominence before the rise of YouTube, was thrown into question Wednesday after the brand’s sale resulted in more than 100 layoffs.

InterActive Corp., the New York company that owned CollegeHumor parent Ch Media, sold its brands to CollegeHumor’s chief creative officer Sam Reich. Terms of the deal were undisclosed but Deadline reported that “all but a handful” of employees were notified of their layoffs Wednesday.

Reich, who joined CollegeHumor in 2006 was not available for comment, but shared the news on Twitter and said he aimed to continue operating the leading CollegeHumor brands, including Dropout, its comedy Svod streaming service. “I hope to be able to save Dropout, CollegeHumor, Drawfee, Dorkly, and many of our shows,” Reich said on Twitter. “Some will need to take on bold new creative directions in order to survive. You may not agree with all of them.

Barry Diller’s Iac has stopped funding the L.A.-based humor site CollegeHumor, resulting in the layoff of 100-plus employees, the company’s chief content officer, Sam Reich, announced Wednesday.

“ Iac, our parent company, has made the difficult decision to no longer finance us. Today, 100+ brilliant people lost their jobs, some of whom are my dear, dear friends. Hire them,” he wrote, before going on to add that Iac had elected to allow him to “run with” the company himself.

“In words that I’m sure are as surreal to read as they are to type, I will soon become the new majority owner of Ch Media,” Reich wrote.

Also Read: Inside CollegeHumor's Svod Strategy and the Future of the Company's YouTube Channel

“Sam was the best choice to acquire Ch Media and define its next chapter. The decision places Ch Media with an owner who is beloved by fans,...

Barry Diller’s media company Iac has sold CollegeHumor Media, whose portfolio includes comedy site CollegeHumor, Drawfee, Dorkly and relatively new streamer Dropout, which debuted in September 2018, Variety has confirmed. The move resulted in over 100 layoffs at the company.

In a “twist,” chief creative officer Sam Reich announced on Twitter that Iac had agreed to transfer majority ownership to him.

“I hope to be able to save Dropout, CollegeHumor, Drawfee, Dorkly, and many of our shows,” said Reich on Twitter. “Some will need to take on bold new creative directions in order to survive. You may not agree with all of them.”

Iac first acquired CollegeHumor in 2006. The site was founded by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen in 1999.

In a statement on the sale obtained by Variety, Iac described Reich as “the best choice” to sell the brand to and promised that he will “define its next chapter.”

“The...

Barry Diller’s InterActive Corp. is selling CHMedia, parent of CollegeHumor and a portfolio of related brands, to Ch chief creative officer Sam Reich. The transaction will result in more than 100 layoffs.

All but a handful of employees at the once-pioneering satire and online video purveyor were told Wednesday they are being let go, according to emails from employees and tweets from Reich. In a Twitter thread, Reich signaled optimism about keeping CollegeHumor afloat, along with sister brands like Dropout and Dorkly, but he indicated the scale and economics would be quite different at first.

“I can’t keep it going like you’re used to,” he wrote. “While we were on the way to becoming profitable, we were nonetheless losing money — and I myself have no money to be able to lose.” He promised to “do my very best to stay true to the talent, shows, fans, and principles...

A new mockumentary culinary series titled Gods of Food is set to premiere on subscription-based streaming service Dropout by CollegeHumor next month, the streamer announced today.

The six-episode season will skewer a range of fine dining tropes, that are all too familiar to fans of cooking shows.

The series was created and written by CollegeHumor cast member and head writer Rekha Shankar, who also serves as an executive producer.

“Cooking shows are one of my favorite things to watch,” said Shankar. “But while the most gorgeous food shows are full of love and passion, they can also be full of dysfunctional personalities and bizarre ideas. I hope Gods of Food resonates with foodies like me in that it’s full of beautiful food, but also pokes fun at some of the tendencies of culinary shows.”

The show stars Don Fanelli (Nightcap) as Anthony D’Anthony, Krizia Bajos (The Casagrandes) as Julia Splenderpoot,...

In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu drops the trailer for Season 2 of “Light as a Feather” and Netflix reveals an animated series based on the video game “Cuphead” is in the works.

First Looks

HBO and Rai Fiction have released the first image from Season 2 of “My Brilliant Friend – The Story of a New Name,” featuring Margherita Mazzucco as Elena and Gaia Girace as Lila. Based on the second book in Elena Ferrante’s four-part series, the show follows childhood friends Elena and Gaia as they grow old together in their poor neighborhood. Saverio Costanzo will return to direct Season 2.

Netflix has released the first look at the fourth season of its original series “Last Chance U,” premiering July 19. The Emmy-nominated series follows a junior college football program, shedding light on the ugliness that often hides behind the glamour of sports.

Hulu has posted the official trailer for the...

TruTV will keep the laughs coming with orders for its first animated series and a sports-themed studio show from comics Clayton English and Noah Gardenswartz. Ahead of its first WarnerMedia upfront next week, the cable net also renewed At Home with Amy Sedaris, Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks and The Carbonaro Effect, and ordered more episodes of Adam Ruins Everything

New series This Functional Family and Game Changers (working title) will bow in 2020, with the new seasons of returning shows premiering this year or next

“With our longstanding franchises to more recent successes like Tacoma Fd, we’ve curated an original portfolio at truTV that consistently delivers on telling distinct comedic stories from amazing talent that is resonating with fans and advertisers alike,” TruTV president Chris Linn said. “As we look ahead to the 2019-20 broadcast season and WarnerMedia’s expansion into new platforms, we’re excited about our unmatched...

Just yesterday, the cult-classic CollegeHumor series Troopers returned to the platform's uncensored Dropout service with all-new episodes. So whether you're catching up on the original series that followed Dread-Troopers Rich (Sam Reich) and Larry (Josh Ruben), and a prisoner/princess (Aubrey Plaza), or watching the brand new season starring Ally Beardsley, Raphael Chestang, and Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything), there's a lot of Troopers content to occupy your time. But there's also some incredible artwork created just to show off the new season! We had a chance to chat with poster artist Sam …...

Back in 2011, the intrepid Internet comedians of CollegeHumor decided to spoof one of the most popular sci-fi/fantasy space stories of all time. And thus their love for all things Star Wars, and its ilk, became Troopers, a series of comedic shorts that gained a cult following. Over 20 episodes in the show's first and only season, fans got to know Rich (Sam Reich) and Larry (Josh Ruben), two Dread-Troopers whose otherwise mundane military lives were complicated by the arrival of a princess (Aubrey Plaza). Troopers fans have been waiting for another season to come to …...

Pop has picked up a 10-episode second season of Hot Date, the original sketch comedy series from Electus’ Big Breakfast and executive producer Will Arnett’s Electric Avenue Productions, inspired by the popular CollegeHumor digital series. The renewal was announced Wednesday by Pop president Brad Schwartz at TCA.

Starring husband and wife comedy duo Emily Axford and Brian K. Murphy, Season 2 of Hot Date will be set in a new city, New Orleans, and focus on the many eccentricities “The Big Easy” has to offer – from gluttonous bourbon-induced debauchery, to haunted Airbnb’s and more – while remaining centered on relational comedy. “Emily” and “Murph” are also planning a wedding and must attempt to navigate the various stresses that come with taking their relationship to the next level.

Hot Date is produced by Big Breakfast, an Electus company, with Drew Buckley, Chris Grant, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Sam Reich, Spencer Griffin and Matthew Pollock serving as executive producers.

Updated with executive comment. Freeform has given a pilot order to a show with the working title Motherland, an hour-long military fantasy drama from Claws creator Eliot Laurence and Gary Sanchez Productions. The news came during an event in New York today, when the network also said it has put in development a dark comedy with the working title of Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective executive produced by Joss Whedon.

Motherland (which execs emphasized they prefer be known as Untitled Eliot Laurence Project) is from Freeform Studio and Gary Sanchez Productions. It was originally put in development in August 2016. The logline: Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution 300 years ago by cutting a deal with the U.S. government to fight for their country, the series follows three young women from basic training in combat magic into early deployment at Fort Salem. In this world, the traditional roles...

Joss Whedon is taking his talents back to the small screen. The “Avengers” director and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator is set to executive produce a half-hour comedy series at Freeform, a spokesperson for the Disney-owned network tells TheWrap.

The project, currently in development, has the working title of “Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective” and comes from creators Siobhan Thompson and Rebecca Drysdale. It is a dark comedy that centers around the titular Pippa Smith, a 20-something who played a former kid sleuth on TV, as she deals with relationships, addiction and being too dang old for the detecting game.

In every episode, Pippa solves a new case, while unraveling a larger mystery and attempting to navigate her messy personal life.

Also Read: Joss Whedon Steps Down as 'Batgirl' Director

Drysdale and Thompson penned the script. Whedon, the”Justice League” reshoot director, and Drysdale will executive produce, with Thompson serving as co-executive producer.

Joss Whedon is set to executive produce a half-hour comedy series currently in development at Freeform, Variety has learned exclusively.

The project is currently titled “Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective.” Hailing from creators Siobhan Thompson and Rebecca Drysdale, the series is described as a dark comedy that follows Pippa Smith, a twenty-something who played a former kid sleuth on television, as she deals with relationships, addiction and being too dang old for the detecting game. Each episode, Pippa solves a new case, while unraveling a bigger mystery and attempting to navigate a messy personal life.

Big Breakfast will produce. Whedon and Drysdale serve as executive producers, with Thompson co-executive producing. Drew Buckley, Jillian Vogel and Sam Reich are executive producers for Big Breakfast, which is an Electus company.

Drysdale’s previous writing credits include “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” “Key and Peele,” “Baskets,” and “High Maintenance.” Thompson has written for and...

At the “Adam Ruins Everything Election Special” taping earlier this month in Los Angeles, even the warmup jokes had their eyes on politics. As standup comedian Jared Logan primed both the audience and the sound technicians for the ensuing show, he invited the audience to test laugh: “Imagine if Tim Kaine just told a joke.”

After 19 episodes of the truTV show already under their belts, Tuesday night’s special represents the most ambitious “Adam Ruins Everything” project yet: an hour-long examination (and in most cases, refutation) of some of the most commonly held refrains of this election cycle.

Read More: ‘Adam Ruins Everything’ With Research, and Adam Conover Likes It That Way

It’s the culmination of weeks of nationwide touring and refining, all done during the midst of production on this year’s batch of “Adam Ruins Everything” episodes, which have been airing since late August. Conover, along with...

Since its launch in October, Verizon’s Go90 video service has turned heads by striking a number of exclusive content deals. It has unveiled series from Vice, Astronauts Wanted, New Form Digital, and several other notable production studios. Its latest partner is CollegeHumor, which has premiered a 52-episode series called Fatal Decision exclusively on Go90.

Fatal Decision comes from CollegeHumor’s Big Breakfast studio and relates to a previous series released on the CollegeHumor YouTube channel in 2008. In both versions, the hero is an office worker who bugs his coworkers by living out a double life as a secret agent. As evidenced by the first episode of the original series, Fatal Decision wears its action-comedy label loudly and proudly.

“Fatal Decision, which is loosely based on the CollegeHumor web series of the same name, is the ultimate movie within a movie,” said Sam Reich, President of Big Breakfast and Head of Video at CollegeHumor,...

TruTV seems to like pulling TV show ideas from popular web series. The cable channel has just ordered a pilot for Adam Ruins Everything (working title) from production studio Big Breakfast.

The new show stars comedian Adam Conover, who takes an honest yet comical look at topics most people take for granted. Backing his reporting with science and historical facts, the host will seek to reveal the truth about common misconceptions while he also entertains and informs audiences. A release for the show calls Conover “like that friend who knows a little bit too much about everything and is going to tell you about it whether you like it or not.”

TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything was inspired by the titular web series initially created by Big Breakfast for CollegeHumor Originals. The first episode, “Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam,” has garnered over 5.6 million views on YouTube. Overall, the entire...

Is it even possible to get crazier than CollegeHumor’s YouTube channel? Apparently, the company thinks so, as it just announced the launch of its weirder new channel, CH2. Aimed at creating experimental sketches, CH2 will do everything CollegeHumor’s main channel does but with a more alternative flair. According to a release, part of CollegeHumor’s reason for launching CH2 is to encourage the development of and give a home to “quirky passion projects” from both familiar and new names in comedy. This angle is already reflected in some of the first videos to be uploaded, like Elaine Carroll’s “Big Boned Cheerleaders” about the intimate connection between those sturdier cheerleaders who always end up as the base of the pyramid formations. "Some of the most popular series and characters throughout CollegeHumor's history have originated from taking risks and trying new things," says Sam Reich, founder of CollegeHumor and President of Big Breakfast,...

Multimedia studio Electus is teaming with fellow Iac property CollegeHumor Media to form Electus Digital. Drew Buckley, Electus’ COO, will oversee the new division, which will encompass website properties CollegeHumor.com, Dorkly.com and WatchLOUD.com; YouTube channels WatchLOUD, Nuevon and Hungry; and production companies dumbdumb and Big Breakfast. The latter is a newly formed full-service production company from CollegeHumor Originals. It will focus on the development of feature-length films, TV programming and new-media projects for Electus Digital and CollegeHumor.com, and it will create original content including via a development deal with TBS that is bringing the CollegeHumor series Jake And Amir to TV. It will be run by CollegeHumor president of original content Sam Reich. “This configuration represents a combination of the best of creative execution and distribution on the digital landscape,” Buckley said today in a release announcing Electus Digital’s formation. “As one team, we are...