Lloyd Ahlquist has brought his lyrical know-how into the spotlight thanks to Epic Rap Battles of History, but he’s now looking to showcase his skills in a different format. The man known online as EpicLloyd is planning Epic Studios, a web series created alongside Canadian production company iThentic.
In Epic Studios, Ahlquist will portray a down-on-his-luck rapper who looks to turn around his musical career after inheriting a studio from his dead father. A trailer released on iThentic’s YouTube channel gives us a taste of the microphone-fumbling, feedback-inducing antics we can expect.
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Ahlquist is best known for his work on ERB, with which he and co-creator Peter Shukoff have managed to attract 11.8 million subscribers and 1.5 billion views. With Epic Studios, though, he will take a break from the punchy, two-minute format of ERB in order to explore something a little more long-form. “With the Rap Battles, I get to act in a very specific way, in costume, and this is a different side of me,” Ahlquist told StreamDaily. “There’s a story and it’s much more character-based, so I’m excited about that.”
iThentic, which has also produced web series like Starz Digital’s Space Riders, will work with Ahlquist to create 13 seven-minute episodes that could also be repackaged as 22-minute TV episodes. StreamDaily notes that Epic Studios will have a budget between $250 thousand and $400 thousand Canadian, which translates to between $200-317 thousand USD.
Ahlquist and iThentic plan to complete filming before Ahlquist’s ERB tour, which begins in the fall. Epic Studios‘ release date has yet to be determined.