Ellen Digital Network (EDN), the digital production outpost (and mobile gaming and podcast publishing division) of Ellen DeGeneres‘ do-gooder media empire — which counts 187 million social followers and 1 billion video views across all platforms — announced yesterday a slate of four shows during its presentation at the inaugural NewFronts West in Los Angeles.
One of those shows will feature digital star Kalen Allen (pictured above), who shot to viral acclaim for his hilarious reaction videos to questionable online recipe videos. Sensing something special in the 22-year-old, DeGeneres invited him onto her long-running television show, and has now greenlit OMKalen, a weekly digital series in which Allen will react to trending news stories every Saturday.
Additionally, EDN is partnering with plus-size model Ashley Graham on Fearless, which will explore self-acceptance and body positivity, and it has also announced The Ayesha Curry Project, in which the mompreneur will help other young women looking to build their own businesses. Lastly, EDN has tapped cousins and home makeover experts Anthony Carrino and John Calaneri for The Build Up, where the two will help families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
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The four new shows join two returning series from EDN: Momsplaining With Kristen Bell, which has garnered 154 million views to date and is now in its third season, and Twitch, Please…Help Me Dance! — which is returning for season two.
Lastly, given the enormous success that DeGeneres has had with the mobile game Heads Up! — which has been the No. 1 paid app for the past four years, with upwards of 39 million total downloads, according to EDN — the company is launching two new apps. Ellen’s Game Of Games is a play-along app for DeGeneres’ talk show of the same name, while The Truth Comes Out — which is meant to be played among family and friends — and will ask hilarious, probing questions to see who knows who best.
Check out our interview with Ellen Digital Ventures’ general manager, Michael Riley, about the television host’s digital evolution, below:
