TV Odds: YouTube Stars Crossing Over to Mainstream TV/Film

Although YouTube’s primary purpose is to entertain us with cute cat videos, there are actually a few people who make a pretty good living vlogging (video blogging) and creating content for the online video giant.

If you were to ask me what the formula is for success on YouTube, I would say create interesting, quality content that you can post on a regular basis. But apparently the word “quality” means a lot of different things as some of the YouTube sensations we have seen over the years have found a niche that, during most epochs of humanity, would not have been considered valuable.

Take popular channels like Ryan Toys Review, where a five-year-old opens up toys and plays with them. This is a thing. The channel has over 8 million subscribers and kids are mesmerized by it. It has even spawned other unboxing channels like Kinder Eggs being unwrapped, or teens watching makeup products being unboxed.

As popular as those channels are — which, again, is unfathomably popular — nothing compares to the dominance that we have seen with video game walkthroughs and commentary.

PewDiePie is the biggest YouTube star on the planet. His real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (say that three times fast) and his big claim to fame is video game commentary that is absurd, borderline offensive, and completely nonsensical. Yet, young people flock to his channel to listen to his ear piercing screams and “gaming insights.” His success has spawned copycats within the gaming community, many of whom have found their own YouTube audience but would never fly on traditional network television.

That said, a few big YouTube personalities have crossed over to more traditional forms of media like television and film. Take Lilly “Superwoman” Singh, whose comedy channel has 12 million subscribers, making her one of the biggest YouTube stars on the planet. The 28-year-old Canadian now resides in LA where she is working on a TV/film career and has written a New York Times bestseller.

Singh isn’t the only YouTuber to parlay online stardom into mainstream success: Miranda Sings will be bringing her cringe comedy to a Netflix series; Lucas Cruikshank took his high-pitched character, Fred Figglehorn, to Nickelodeon, and Comic Adam Conover of CollegeHumor.com brought his popular series Adam Ruins Everything to network TV.

Given that the biggest YouTube stars are already making a great living, many don’t see any benefit to moving to a more traditional form of media, due to fears of losing creative control. Being your own boss is often the more rewarding way to go. However, there is so much great content out there that is ripe for the picking and could make YouTube stars into even bigger household names.

Which YouTube channels and personalities could find their way to television, or even film, next? Below are the odds that some of YouTube’s most popular visages crossover to traditional film and television career.

Odds YouTube Stars Cross Over to Film/TV

What’s Up Moms (1.6 million subscribers): 3/2

Genre: Mommy Vlogging, Sketch Comedy

This vlogging site is mostly targeted towards moms. Elle, Meg, and Brooke (RIP Connie) have made it into a massive hit, full of fast-paced and humorous content that usually focuses on mom hacks, baking, crafts, and parody videos. This really should be on network TV and not just on YouTube as there is a definite market, namely Pinterest-loving females.

Jenna Marbles (17 million subscribers): 2/1

Genre: Comedy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wRXa971Xw0

Jenna Mourey, a.k.a. Jenna Marbles (named after her dog), has made a name for herself through comedic commentary. Back in 2010, she released a video called “How To Trick People Into Thinking You’re Good Looking,” which scored over 5.3 million viewers in its first week. From that point, her videos have remained both quirky and truthful about the people she meets and the experiences she has as a woman on a daily basis. Although vlogging is best kept on YouTube, she most definitely has the chop to host her own show or maybe even get into acting.

Veritasium (4.2 million subscribers): 3/1

Genre: Science

The biggest reason to recommend this fantastic science channel on YouTube is host Derek Muller. A British physicist, Muller is extremely well-spoken and does a wonderful job of making science fascinating and accessible for a variety of ages. He’s reminiscent of Bill Nye the Science Guy in his approach, using experiments, dramatizations, and songs to explain common scientific misconceptions. While there are a lot of science shows on specialty cable channels already, Derek Muller is a star in the making.

Rosanna Pansino – Nerdy Nummies (8.5 million subscribers): 4/1

Genre: Cooking/Baking

This is a baking show for people who love movies, comics, anime and video games. Hosted by Rosanna Pansino, each episode gives you a tutorial on how to make nerdy-themed baked goods that not only look cool but taste amazing. This is something that could easily end up on the Food Network and Pansino should definitely host.

Speechless with Carly Fleischmann (200,000 subscribers): 4/1

Genre: Talk Show

As a young girl, Carly Fleischmann was diagnosed with autism and a condition that prevented her from speaking out of her mouth. So, of course, the hilarious 22-year-old has her very own digital talk show thanks to YouTube veterans Fine Brothers Entertainment (FBE). Fleischmann, who communicates by typing on her computer, has brought on some big guests like Channing Tatum and James Van Der Beek to name a couple. She has great comedic timing and asks fantastic questions. Bringing her show to network TV would present unique challenges, but could also pay huge dividends.

DanTDM  (15.4  million subscribers): 17/3

Genre: Gaming

Dan Middleton, or DanTDM (“The Diamond Minecart”) as he is called, created a gaming channel back in 2012. Although he focuses a lot on Minecraft, he does a great job of introducing a variety of games to kids between the ages of five and ten years old. With so much craziness and crudeness pervading gaming walkthroughs on YouTube, DanTDM is a refreshing change. The well-spoken Brit should have his own gaming show on traditional TV … as long as he brings his pug.

The Great War (650,000 subscribers): 9/1

Genre: History

This history gem posts every Thursday, following the events of World War I week by week, 100 years later. They explore some common themes and introduce important historical personalities of WWI. It’s very well done, and a network wouldn’t have to worry about running out of content. Humanity has made sure of that with its belligerence.

Seems ideal for The History Channel, right? Or not, since The History Channel is responsible for Ancient Aliens and UFO Hunters.

Joey Graceffa Channel – Storytellers (7.7 million subscribers): 25/1

Genre: Short Films

Storytellers, a web series focused on six friends who gather around a campfire and tell scary stories, is produced by YouTube sensation Joey Graceffa and targeted towards teens. The fun turns out to be a tad more frightening than anyone expected. With a bigger budget, this idea could be expanded upon and would make for a great Netflix original series. Graceffa’s other short films and music videos are also worth checking out and should give mainstream players confidence he’s not a one-hit wonder.

Chainsawsuit Original – Movies with Mikey (74,000 subscribers): 50/1

Genre: Film Reviews/Commentary

For film geeks, there are many YouTube channels to choose from for movie news and critiques. One of my personal favorites is Movies with Mikey where Mikey Neumann provides his own brand of amazing, in-depth analysis. Due to health issues, Neumann just recently left his high-profile job at Gearbox and will now focus on Movies with Mikey full time. Maybe this type of film commentary works better on a YouTube channel, but his insight is greatly needed in critic circles and would be a welcomed addition in episodic format on Netflix.