Issa Rae is turning Tubi into a showcase for creators “on the cusp”

13 years after premiering the first season of her web series The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl, Issa Rae is helping today’s up-and-coming creators get their big breaks. Rae’s ColorCreative management firm (which is part of her media company Hoorae) is teaming with Tubi to launch a program called Stubio.

Thanks to Stubio, Tubi will release five projects led by creators who are “on the cusp of being so fucking big,” as Tubi CMO Nicole Parlapiano put it. ColorCreative will mentor the rising showrunners and Tubi will provide the funding for their projects.

Four projects have already been chosen for the first Stubio class. Participants will range from recording artist Lady London to TikToker Kelon Campbell to comedians Cris Sosa, Daniela Mora, and Grant Moore. Tubi’s audience will help pick the fifth project in the class by engaging with applicants selected by Tubi and ColorCreative. The first creator to reach 15,000 engagements on Tubi will see their pitch come to life — so I guess you could say the audience is acting as a Tubi filter. (Sorry not sorry.)

Since breaking out with Awkward Black Girl more than a decade ago, Rae has tirelessly championed independent artists. Her experience with the traditional TV production process

helped her advise a wide range of web series creators, but convincing networks to take a risk on those artists — the way HBO did with Rae’s Insecure — has always been a difficult proposition.

Now Tubi is providing an important link in that process. The FAST hub has its own history with indie artists. Its CEO, Anjali Sud, came from Vimeo, a platform known for looking out for the little guys. Tubi has also developed a reputation as a supporter of independent Black artists, and the pact with ColorCreative will add more faces to that community.

“To be able to participate in a pipeline for the next generation of creators to have a fast track into this industry is all that I’m about,” Rae told HuffPost. “And to be able to also mentor these creatives on their journey, in an organized, cohesive way to produce something tangible, is also what I’m about.”

Beyond her involvement with Tubi, Rae continues to stay relevant in the world of digital media. She’s looking to build a studio of her own and will keep investing in her personal projects, even though she has said that Insecure is done for good.