AwesomenessTV’s ‘Side Effects’ Is A TV-Length Movie-Musical Event

The best musicians YouTube has to offer will be honored on November 3rd at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards, and AwesomenessTV is taking advantage of the preceding ‘YouTube Music Week’ by providing viewers with a YouTube musical spectacular. The teen-skewing network is the home of Side Effects, a TV-length musical starring some of YouTube’s most talented creators.

Side Effects sports a 40-minute runtime and features a bold combination of comedy, drama, and song. It stars Meg DeLacy as a 16-year old girl whose prescribed medication comes with a side effect of musical hallucinations, which sounds a lot better than constipation and drowsiness. Each musical number is a cover of a Top 40 hit, paying homage to YouTube’s status as a haven for cover artists.

The cast is full of familiar faces, including Chester See, Lia Marie Johnson, Taryn Southern, Meghan Rosette, and Vincent Cyr. Many of these stars also appear on the film’s soundtrack, which has been released simultaneously through Itunes

“We are convinced that YouTube will become a new launching pad for long-form television style content, which is why we decided to debut a 42-minute version of Side Effects on AwesomenessTV” said AwesomenessTV CEO and founder Brian Robbins.  “Side Effects combines YouTube stars and trends with television narrative and production values, which we believe will be the wave of the future, particularly for our teen/tween audience.”

Robbins is betting on a lot more than just long-form content. Side Effects is also hoping that YouTube cover songs are popular outside of the specific channels on which they are popular. It’s not a sure bet, but Robbins his team have put Side Effects up for consumption, applied it liberally via pre-roll, and hoped for the best.