Buzzfeed launches first sponsored scripted series starring Ashly Perez
Buzzfeed has launched its first sponsored scripted series with Toyota Corolla.
Unfortunatly Ashly, a spin-off of the BuzzFeed Violet series, is a sitcom starring Ashly Perez, who is also the creative force behind the project.
"The best part about this development deal in general is it allows me to flex so many of my muscles at once," Perez told Mashable.
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Perez and Buzzfeed's Ella Mielniczenko and Andrew Gauthier created Violet, the company's first scripted character universe, in 2014 as a response to the lack of vibrant and diverse female characters present in digital media.
Since its inception, the channel has garnered over 2.9 million likes on YouTube, published over 340 videos, and almost 1 billion views.
Following Violet's success, the trio created You Do You as an up-market, full-scale version of the Violet character universe. It debuted on iTunes in November 2015, and ranked as No. 1 the first week of its release.
Perez's eight-episode series, which debuted on YouTube on Thursday, delves deeper into Ashly's world outside her core group of lady friends. It follows the protagonist as she is tasked with watching her 16-year-old cousin Izzy.
"We always talked about building this creator universe where creators would be brought together, like Marvel's Avengers, but that they could also exist on their own," Perez said. "Now we are doing that with Ashly."
The series comes after an interesting year for Buzzfeed.
The entertainment and media company has had several recent shake-ups and departures following news that BuzzFeed will split its news and entertainment divisions.
The latter is now led by BuzzFeed Motion Pictures President Ze Frank. Under Frank, BuzzFeed Motion Pictures has amassed over 5 billion video views across more than 30 platforms.
The company has partnered with a variety of distribution platforms including YouTube Red, which released Broke in October and will debut a The Try Guys show called Squad Wars in 2017.
Perez, who has been at Buzzfeed for four years, said the series feels like part of Buzzfeed's evolution and expansion.
"I've seen Buzzfeed go through a lot of eras," she said. "This show feels like the grown-up version of the show we’ve already been doing, and I’m really excited about it."
Topics YouTube
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
