Thanks to its deep pockets and its talented editorial team, Vox Media has emerged as a media company to watch in the online video space. In particular, it has looked to thrive through serial content on YouTube and has experienced mixed results. Some of its channels, such as news-oriented Vox and tech-focused The Verge, have picked up seven-digit subscriber counts and scored numerous viral hits; others, such as SB Nation, have not caught on as much.
Now, with its new slate, Vox Media is once again making pledge to premium videos. It has announced 11 new and returning programs that it hopes will entertain audiences across five of its brands.
Some of the shows included in Vox Media’s slate, such as Polygon’s Monster Factory (pictured above) and Vox’s Vox Pop, are already notable view generators for their respective host channels. Others, such as the new Eater series Cult Following, have arrived in the past few weeks. Still more, including X’s and O’s on SB Nation, are due to premiere in the near future.
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All of the new video content is being overseen by Gavin Purcell, whom Vox Media hired away from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last year. “These guys were already making great videos,” Purcell told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m trying to be a centralized resource, creating some formulas that we can build off of. We’ve developed formats that we can go back to.”
The Hollywood Reporter also offered brief descriptions of the program’s included in Vox Media’s slate:
Vox’s Vox Pop — The popular video series puts important moments in pop culture under a microscope and explains the efforts and creative forces behind the films, TV and music people love. Vox Pop episodes have been viewed nearly 55 million times to date, with fan favorites including “Rapping, Deconstructed” and “Kanye West, Deconstructed.”
Vox’s Strikethrough — A new video series features host Carlos Maza explaining the new state of journalism and media in the unprecedented Trump era. Strikethrough has already proved to be hugely popular with audiences: pilot episodes, including “Kellyanne Conway’s Interview Tricks Explained” and “Comedians Have Figured Out the Trick to Covering Trump,” have racked up 43 million views and counting.
Vox’s Borders — The new docuseries brings the lines on the world map to life, examining the human impact of boundaries — economic changes, cultural divides, security debates, refugee crises — and the unusual collaborations they can create. Borders is hosted by international relations expert Johnny Harris, who on Monday launched a global crowdsourced campaign to surface story ideas to document for the new series, which will premiere this fall on Vox. Harris is the co-creator of Vox’s most-watched video to date — “Syria’s War: A 5-Minute History” — which has been viewed over 100 million times.
The Verge’s Next Level — In a new series from the Verge, consumer tech expert Lauren Goode investigates the cutting-edge technologies that will change our lives in the very near future. Next Level is the first show to explore and experience the prototypes, concepts and lab experiments that will forever change how we interact with technology, and have a lot of fun along the way.
The Verge’s Loren in Space — In a new series, the Verge’s space specialist Loren Grush explores the physical and mental preparations astronauts undergo before launching into space and zero gravity environments. Loren in Space investigates the latest technologies astronauts use to virtually explore distant stars and planets, the little-known intricacies of human space flight and the emerging commercial space race.
Eater’s You Can Do This — Eater’s tips and tricks guru Clifford Endo, a chef turned stylist and culinary producer, teaches budding home chefs the smartest cooking hacks from professional kitchens. Each Tuesday, Cliff reveals a new culinary magic trick such as creating homemade pickles in under five minutes and transforming a keyboard cleaner into a smoke machine.
Eater’s Cult Following — In a new series, Eater editor Serena Dai visits restaurants across the country to experience and investigate the food world’s most obsessed-over restaurants and in-demand, Instagrammable meals, often with a celebrity chef as her guide. Cult Following taste tests a popular Filipino food chain’s first outpost in Queens alongside chef Dale Talde, a Japanese ramen shop where guests eat in isolation and a steakhouse chain where diners enjoy their meals standing up.
Polygon’s Monster Factory — The hit series from Polygon’s Griffin and Justin McElroy showcases the expert gaming duo, and brothers, at their best as they hilariously create video games’ most terrifying and absurd creatures and characters. Monster Factory has already amassed a devoted audience of millions, and will premiere new episodes every other Friday.
SB Nation’s X’s and O’s — Hosted by former NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz, this show provides fans smart breakdowns of football’s most fun and entertaining moments.
SB Nation’s Will You Be My Friend?— Featuring an SB Nation reporter’s hilarious and often successful attempts to meet and befriend professional athletes, Will You Be My Friend? begins with Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks in its premiere episode.
Draft Party Live With SB Nation — A five-hour live video special covering the NFL draft. This year, the show streamed live on YouTube, Facebook and SB Nation (and its 32 NFL team sites) to over one million viewers.
