Stephanie Laing isn’t a familiar name in the online video world, but that’s about to change. The director and executive producer of HBO’s Veep will launch the female-centric online comedy network PYPO on January 4, 2016.
PYPO, which is an acronym for Put Your Pretty On, was founded earlier in 2015 by Laing and Susan Paley, a former executive from Beats by Dre. The new comedy network will feature original content including sketch videos, editorials, and animations. These creations will all focus on a different theme each week, such as why women say they’re sorry all the time (which Amy Schumer did a wonderful take on earlier this year) or what it means for a woman to “have it all.” Every Monday, PYPO will also release a weekly themed e-mail newsletter dubbed The PYPEline, followed up by a Thursday issue covering user-generated content from that week’s highlighted theme.
The idea for PYPO originated about six years ago, when Laing and her young daughter were about to leave the house. The Veep director told The Hollywood Reporter her daughter stopped on their way out the door and said, “Hold on, I have to put my pretty on.” Laing’s girl put on Chapstick, and the director realized she’d have to talk to her daughter about what it meant to be pretty. “Put Your Pretty On became our mantra on how to live your life,” Laing said. “When she was nervous for a test, I’d say, ‘put your pretty on.’”
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After bringing on former Capitol File editor Elizabeth Thorp as editor-in-chief, PYPO signed various writing and creative talent to produce the network’s first slate of programming. Talent already on board with the upcoming comedy network includes Tony Roche (Veep), Georgia Pritchett (Veep), Marie Claire executive editor Lea Goldman, and Gemma Baker (Mom). PYPO also just finished up a trip to Australia to film some videos with Rose Byrne’s production company The Dollhouse Collective.
Laing said PYPO won’t just be for women, and the online network will push the limits of comedy. “The biggest focus for us is that we’re not reporting the news,” Laing explained. “There are a lot of sites like that focused on women that are great, but we want to create the news. Our focus is on original content and digital shorts. We want to provide that platform for women comics to try out material. Our message to them was, ‘let us help you be your own producer. Let us help you execute something.’”
Eventually, PYPO will work to expand into offline events and opportunities, including books and merchandising, as well as branded content. Ultimately, Laing would like PYPO to sell TV shows. “I’d like to think that we’d have our PYPO players,” the Veep director said. “We want to launch talent.”
As you wait for the launch of PYPO on January 4, you can check out a trailer for the online comedy network below:
