The Future of TV Might Just Be a YouTube Channel

Hi Friends! ✨

Happy Friday! We are so happy to be back with you this week and, as always, thank you so much for reading.

Bon chance to all our friends currently basking in the glorious sunshine of the French Riviera for my favorite film festival in the world: Cannes. ☀️🎬

The sun! The sea! The fits! The rosé! ... the films. And, of course, the absurdly gratuitous applause. C’est magnifique.

It is not all ladies at Culture House, though. Our top legal mind, bestie, and resident bon vivant, Daniel Benge of Fox Rothschild fame, is over there representing us, surely his favorite client, while also serving international smokeshow energy on behalf of the entire team. For this, and for all the genuinely excellent legal work, we are deeply grateful. 🇫🇷

We aren’t in France, but its still been a glamorous start to May.

It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and we have been OUTSIDE. Rae popped into the annual Gold Gala last weekend, an incredible night celebrating Asian American excellence and a powerful reminder of the creativity, ambition, and cultural force within the community. Huge congratulations to Gold House for hosting such a spectacular convening. ✨

Meanwhile, dropped a total banger on In The Trenches this week. ** Are You Even Clipping rn**? is a super smart look at the machinery behind virality in the modern internet age and the increasingly chaotic economy of attention. Highly recommend giving it a read.

For anyone who has been around television for a while, you may remember an era when the TV Upfronts were major cultural news. Entire ecosystems of people used to obsess over lineups, announcements, talent deals, and which network was trying to convince advertisers they had finally cracked “the future.”

And honestly? It kind of feels like the Upfronts are back-ish. Or maybe this year the coverage is simply punching through the algorithm hard enough that we are all seeing it again.

Either way, the message emerging from this news cycle reinforces a question we have been asking ourselves for years now: how do we get directly to our audience? How do we stop waiting for permission? How do we build and release the things we actually care about making?

Are we ready for the rise of the independent TV studio on YouTube?! 👀 Because if that possibility is part of your creative fantasy life, friends... I think our time has come.

This week, YouTube announced a slate of new celebrity-fronted programming that basically looks like traditional television, just rebuilt for the independent creator era:

Keep the Meter Running, where Kareem Rahma hops into yellow cabs and asks drivers to take him to their favorite places; four new series from Alex Cooper, including Unwell Games, a reality competition series where creators and reality stars live under one roof competing for prize money; and Trevor Noah’s World Tour, where Trevor visits cities around the globe to spotlight local people, food, and culture.

So consider this your sign to dust off that development pipeline and go indie. 🎥

A beautiful collection of profiles from across the Asian American diaspora.

Culture House fam DJ Rekha shines in this fantastic film, but honestly every story lands powerfully on its own. Watching the collective portrait unfold, and being reminded of what our communities have contributed to this country and to culture at large, felt deeply emotional in the best possible way.

It is thoughtful, moving, joyful, and an absolutely gorgeous watch. Stream it now on HBOMax. 💫

Nicole and Mikhael managed to squeeze in a very lovely 24 hours in NYC with some of our favorite people from the Culture House Immersive universe and also snuck away to catch Mexodus, which is absolutely incredible. ✨ Mexodus is a hip-hop musical and live-looped theatrical experience created by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson.

The show runs through June 15, so if you are in New York, grab tickets while you can. Highly, highly recommend.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Carri, Nicole, Rae & Mikhael

your storyflo · everywhere you listen.

The Future of TV Might Just Be a YouTube Channel