May 05, 2017
Kevin Hart's coming to a small screen near you.
The comedian/actor who hails from North Philadelphia is included in a star-studded list of celebrities slated to get original, ad-supported shows from video-sharing giant YouTube.
Kevin Hart's show, called "Kevin Hart: What the Fit?", will feature different stars each week "as they attempt to master a different trending, grueling and sometimes ridiculous workout routine," YouTube said in a news release.
"[I'll be] doing things you wouldn’t expect me to do like hot yoga, pilates, working out with Marines and show people the different levels of working out," Hart said, according to USA Today.
Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Lovato and Katy Perry are also set to each get original programs that viewers will be able to watch for free, unlike YouTube Red, the website's subscription service.
Johnson & Johnson has already signed on to become the "exclusive sponsor" of Ryan Seacrest's new talent competition show titled "Best.Cover.Ever."
"Five years ago, 85 percent of all original series were ad-supported," Robert Kyncl, YouTube's business chief, said Thursday. "This year, that number has fallen to just over two-thirds. And with significantly more content coming to subscription services, that shift is accelerating. So we see these shows as a way for us to partner with [advertisers] to buck this trend."
The shows are set to premiere later this year.