The funny meme company 9GAG has hired a writer from Cheers and Seinfeld to help launch a late night talk show
- The funny viral meme company 9GAG is planning to launch a late night comedy series.
- It's the latest example of a social media-centric brand looking to become a full fledged media company.
- The Hong Kong-based 9GAG has tapped a writer from 'Cheers' and 'Seinfeld' to run the new show, which debuts in August.
When you think of viral internet meme culture - you wouldn't necessarily associate that brand of comedy with classic TV sitcoms.
But 9GAG is trying to blend those two worlds, while also bending some of the conventions of the classic TV talk show.
The Hong Kong-based social media content firm has amassed nearly 40 million fans on Facebook and another 45 million on Instagram over the past decade. Mostly 9GAG has made its name by pumping out cute cat pictures, user produced pratfall videos and loads of captioned photos of celebrities ranging from Leonardo DiCarprio to Kim Jong Un.
Next up, 9GAG is rolling out a late night talk show. And it has tapped Tom Leopold, a veteran writer from classic sitcoms such as "Cheers," "Seinfeld," and "Ellen," to executive produce and run the show.
The 12-episode show, "Deplorable with Victor Dweck, is due this August. It will be distributed via various social media outlets.
According to Russell Schneider, 9GAG's head of partnerships and business development, "Deplorable" aims to emulate the way that publishers such as NowThis and Cheddar have found audiences through non linear channels - while also playing with a very traditional format.
With the push into an original series 9GAG appears to be attempting what several other viral outlets have tried to do - turning a social media born content company into a multifaceted media company. It's the same path forged by brands like Betches and Fuck Jerry.
The brands cut their teeth in social media, and have found the fundamentals of what made them successful constantly changing. Think the recent Facebook algorithm shift to favor content from friends and family to Instagram's various feed tweaks.
All of these publications need to find audiences, and revenue streams, on as many platforms as possible.
9GAG was founded roughly a decade ago in Hong Kong. It's only just established a presence in the US, including an ad sales team.
With the upcoming show, which has already generated solid viewership for a pair of preview clips, the hope is for 9GAG to "reimagining what we could do a bit," said Schneider. "Comedy is the next frontier [in social video]. We see a big white space opportunity."
For Leopold, the opportunity was to attempt to translate his TV comedy skills to a new, ever changing medium. "This may the only part of show business I haven't been part of," he said.
Leopold compared "Deplorable" to the off the wall 1980s sitcom "It's Garry Shandling's Show," only carved up into shorter formats.
"I was intrigued by the freedom of this," he said. "I liked the idea that wouldn't have three sets of notes from two studios, and have to serve all these comedy masters."