Pop will soon have new programming taken straight from Rainn Wilson’s YouTube channel SoulPancake. The cable network previously known as TV Guide Network has picked up the Impress Me web series for distribution on its linear TV channel.
Created by Ben Shelton, Impress Me follows Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead, Mad Men) and Jim Meskimen (Parks and Recreation) in a fictional setting as they try to transition from celebrity impressionists to serious actors. Future guest stars will include well-known faces such as Angela Kinsey, Josh Groban, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Pop will release the six existing episodes of Impress Me, which previously debuted on SoulPancake, along with seven entirely new, never-seen episodes. The show will be released after the time slot currently occupied by Pop’s first original scripted series Schitt’s Creek, acquired from Canada’s CBC network.
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“We discovered this gem of a show on YouTube from Rainn Wilson and SoulPancake that absolutely killed us,” said Brad Schwartz, Pop’s President, in a release as reported by Deadline. “And since we know that nobody is watching content online ;), we wanted to bring our television audience exclusive new episodes of this scripted comedy series that captures the spirit of celebrity fandom with a ton of heart, while also being a great match to follow the biggest hit in our network’s history, Schitt’s Creek, on Wednesday nights.”
Impress Me originally premiered on SoulPancake’s YouTube channel in February 2014 with the title The Impression Guys. The comedy web series was one of SoulPancake’s first forays into the half-hour, TV-length format.
Tune in to Pop on March 18, 2015, to catch the first episode of Impress Me.
