Buzzfeedhas launched its first sponsored scripted series with Toyota Corolla.
Unfortunatly Ashly,Documentary Archives a spin-off of the BuzzFeed Violet series, is a sitcom starring Ashly Perez, who is also the creative force behind the project.
"The best part about this development deal in general is it allows me to flex so many of my muscles at once," Perez told Mashable.
You May Also Like
Perez and Buzzfeed's Ella Mielniczenko and Andrew Gauthier created Violet, the company's first scripted character universe, in 2014 as a response to the lack of vibrant and diverse female characters present in digital media.
Since its inception, the channel has garnered over 2.9 million likes on YouTube, published over 340 videos, and almost 1 billion views.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Following Violet's success, the trio created You Do Youas an up-market, full-scale version of the Violet character universe. It debuted on iTunes in November 2015, and ranked as No. 1 the first week of its release.
Perez's eight-episode series, which debuted on YouTube on Thursday, delves deeper into Ashly's world outside her core group of lady friends. It follows the protagonist as she is tasked with watching her 16-year-old cousin Izzy.
"We always talked about building this creator universe where creators would be brought together, like Marvel's Avengers, but that they could also exist on their own," Perez said. "Now we are doing that with Ashly."
SEE ALSO: BuzzFeed's Quinta Brunson makes YouTube Red debut with 'Broke'The series comes after an interesting year for Buzzfeed.
The entertainment and media company has had several recent shake-ups and departures following news that BuzzFeedwill split its news and entertainment divisions.
The latter is now led by BuzzFeed Motion Pictures President Ze Frank. Under Frank, BuzzFeed Motion Pictures has amassed over 5 billion video views across more than 30 platforms.
The company has partnered with a variety of distribution platforms including YouTube Red, which released Brokein October and will debut a The Try Guys show called Squad Wars in 2017.
Perez, who has been at Buzzfeedfor four years, said the series feels like part of Buzzfeed's evolution and expansion.
"I've seen Buzzfeed go through a lot of eras," she said. "This show feels like the grown-up version of the show we’ve already been doing, and I’m really excited about it."
Topics YouTube
