YouTube didn’t just use the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to premiere new projects helmed by creators. It also announced a fresh slate of original programs that will open up new opportunities for Canadian creators (and one subway-riding Egyptian-American).
The programming announcements came during the YouTube Features marketing event, which was held adjacent to TIFF. The host of YouTube Features was the aforementioned Egyptian-American, Kareem Rahma, who is bringing his hit series Subway Takes north of the border. In 2027, Subway Takes Toronto will hit YouTube, with “iconic Canadian guests” lined up. Will more Emmy nominations follow?
If Rahma doesn’t bag YouTube the awards season hardware it desires, the platform’s top Canadian creators may be able to fulfill that destiny. The TIFF slate cuts across some of the categories that are most prominent on YouTube. There will be sports programming led by Olympians like Tessa Virtue and Sarah Nurse; foodie fare from gourmands like Matty Matheson and Susur Lee; and reality TV-style content hosted by Jeenie Weenie, Alexandra Gater, and the Kalogeras Sisters.
The other show in the lineup is an intriguing scripted project. Julie Nolke, who is best known for explaining the COVID-19 pandemic to her past self, will pair Millennial friendships with serial killing in a dark comedy called Becky and Miranda.
YouTube Canada Head Nicole Bell said that the creators featured in the slate are being put in charge of their programs. “They get to green light themselves and decide what their content will look like,” Bell said. “They get to continue owning their IP, owning all their audience, and going directly to that audience and getting feedback.”
That strategy figures to be more sustainable than YouTube’s previous attempts to make originals happen. The platform is putting its trust in the creator community it has cultivated throughout its 20-year run. We’ll see how that approach fares when the entries in the Canadian slate premiere exclusively on YouTube in the coming months.
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