Katy Perry, John Legend, Terry Crews, Snoop Dogg, and Neil Patrick Harris are among the more than 40 celebrities that will join fans during Houseparty’s three-day livestreaming event.
Epic Games’ social video app has gained more than 50 million new users since the March onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, and now it’s riding that wave of traffic by offering a weekend stacked with live performances from dozens of traditional and digital stars. The event–called In the House–is tightly scheduled, with streams slated back-to-back from early morning to evening May 15, 16, and 17.
The reason for that, Houseparty co-founder and CEO Sima Sistani told Variety, is because the company wants viewers anticipating streams the way they used to anticipate a new TV premiere.
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“We are bringing back appointment viewing…trying to capture that feeling of sitting on the couch for that special show with your family or friends on a Friday night,” she said.
It’s not surprising, then, that Houseparty has debuted a new feature for the event: co-viewing, which will let users add any In the House stream to a group call so that all participants can watch together. (This is not Houseparty’s first collaborative feature; it already lets users play a variety of mobile games together during video chats.)
Sistani added that Houseparty believes In the House is different from other recent celebrity streaming events because it’s not strictly performance-based. There will be some performances–for example, Perry will sing her new song, “Daisies”–but viewers can also expect to see glimpses of celebs’ homes live, plus content that’s not strictly a show. Crews, for example, is using his session to share a workout routine, longtime Dancing with the Stars pro Derek Hough and TikTok star Addison Rae will offer dance instruction, and Snoop Dogg and Zooey Deschanel will use their time slots for cooking.
Like the rest of Houseparty, In the House will have no advertising, and will be free to use via iOS/Android apps or on the web. (Houseparty has previously said it expects to generate revenue from in-app purchases.)
You can see In the House’s full schedule here.
