"Step Up" fans would be glad to know that paid streaming service YouTube Red is cooking up a television drama based on the 2006 film series that launched Channing Tatum into superstardom. Produced by Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot, Erik Feig, Patrick Wachsberger, and Garrett Grant, "Step Up" was released in 2006 to a box office of $650 million, spawning four sequels from 2008 to 2014.
According to The New York Times, Lionsgate will produce 10 episodes (with 45 minutes each) of the yet-untitled drama, which sees Tatum as executive producer. Also on board to produce are Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Meredith Milton, along with Shankman and Gibdot. Production is set to begin later this year and will premiere on YouTube Red next year.
"I’ve been a fan of the 'Step Up' movies for years and always believed the films would translate into an awesome original series," YouTube global head of original content Susanne Daniels told Mashable. "We know that dance is a hugely successful global category on YouTube, so I’m excited to have a series rooted in such an enormously popular genre on our platform."
Lionsgate Movie Division Co-president Erik Feig credits the success of "Step Up" to a "relatively simple formula" featuring current hip-hop music paired with "feel-good fantasy" that immediately results to a party. Lionsgate Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs calls "Step Up" an "incredible property" with a "global appeal" that makes it relatively easier to translate it into a drama series.
Among YouTube Red's other original offerings are "Rhett and Link's Buddy System," which will feature "Saturday Night Live" alums Molly Shannon, Chris Parnell, and Leslie Bibb ("Popular") and Page Kennedy ("Weeds"), "Dan and Phil Tour Documentary" featuring YouTube stars Dan Howell and Phil Lester, "Vlogmentary" to be executively produced by award-winning filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, a yet-untitled animated series featuring YouTube creators SeaNanners, TheMrSark, and VanossGaming, and a yet-untitled project headed by Vsauce creator Michael Stevens.
Users can get access to advertisement-free video streaming for just $10 a month, and with the new "Step Up" series, the company is hoping to place itself in the position to compete with Netflix, HBO, and other streaming services.
