In February 2015, Issa Rae landed a pilot order from HBO for Insecure, a sitcom that would go on to become a full series and a critical darling. At that time, YouTube’s plans for long-form original content were still in their nascent stages, but if the video site had been farther along in the process that ultimately led to the launch of YouTube Red, it may have given Insecure a look. In an interview with Business Insider, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl theorized that Insecure “would be on YouTube right now” if the company had been “doing our originals” at the time when the show was developed.
Insecure, which follows a pair of black women as they navigate uncomfortable situations, is based off Rae’s web series Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl, which she distributed through YouTube. Given her existing relationship with the video site, Kyncl believes a spot in the YouTube Red lineup would have made sense. “There’s nothing different about it [than other YouTube Red projects]. We would have made it the same way,” he told Business Insider. “Literally, if her life cycle was shifted by three years…there’s just nothing that would stop us from doing it.”
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The idea of YouTube outbidding HBO may seem ambitious, but Rae did struggle to bring her vision to TV before ultimately landing her Insecure deal. Previously, she had teamed up with notable showrunner Shonda Rhimes in an attempt to bring a project called I Hate LA Dudes to life, but ABC ultimately passed on that comedy. Perhaps YouTube would have provided the support she needed before HBO entered the mix.
Though it may not be on YouTube, Insecure is currently on air, and its second season began earlier this summer on HBO. As for Kyncl, the YouTube exec recently co-authored a book called Streampunks, which details the rise of online video and its community of homegrown creators.
