For months, YouTube has teased the shows it will fund through its restructured original content division. Now, the first of those shows has arrived, and it is off to a strong start. The first episode of Part Timers has premiered on the YouTube channel of its stars, Smosh’s Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla.
In Part Timers, Hecox and Padilla play Ian and Anton (no coincidence there, I’m sure), a pair of employees who oversee the goings on at Pork E. Pines, a fictional Chuck E. Cheese knock-off. The series chronicles not just Ian and Anton but also the other unusual characters who work and play at Pork E. Pines. The first episode opens with a bloody death and ends with an employee making out with a mop. Between those two scenes, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of the sort of slapstick humor you can expect from Part Timers.
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Over a ten-year career, Hecox and Padilla have established themselves as two of the YouTube community’s most visible content creators, and with their new series, they have taken their production values to a higher level. Thanks to the YouTube money granted to production company Defy Media, Part Timers looks and sounds like a TV show, and Smosh’s fans are impressed. “This is like a real sitcom,” reads a well-liked comment on the premiere episode. “The plot is a good concept, and it’s just like Smosh vids.”
The first episode of Part Timers is certainly promising. It’s still intended for Smosh’s audience, so if you weren’t a fan of the duo before, this series might not change your mind. At the same time, it is very well-executed, and if you’re the kind of person who is curious about the potential of the YouTube community, you should be excited about all the other YouTube-funded programs that will arrive in the near future.
