Nick Cannon's dancehall drama is heading to YouTube Red
Nick Cannon is debuting his dance film on YouTube Red.
The streaming service has picked up distribution rights to King of the Dancehall, Cannon's film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
The film follows the Brooklyn-born hero (played by Cannon) after he heads to Jamaica "to start a new chapter after a major setback forces him to quickly leave town," YouTube said in a release. "He falls for a local girl in Kingston who introduces him to dancehall culture, and soon discovers a newfound passion for dance."
Cannon also serves as writer, director and executive producer of the project, which was made by his company NCREDIBLE Productions.
“Music and dance are universal themes, and I’m excited to partner with YouTube to bring a story about the world's sexiest dance tradition to its massive audience,” Cannon said in a statement. “This film invites viewers into a vibrant, yet little-known world outside of the Caribbean -- the Jamaican dancehall. We assembled an amazing cast, mixed documentary footage from real-life dancehall scenes, and collaborated with music legends to bring King of the Dancehall to life.”
If Nick Cannon isn't your thing, there are plenty of other dance projects in development.
YouTube announced at VidCon last year that it's working on a Step Up series executive produced by Mr. and Mrs. Step Up, Channing and Jenna Tatum.
Last year, the platform also released Awesomeness Films' Dance Camp, starring YouTuber Meg DeAngelis.
The service's free platform is home to millions of dance-related YouTube videos. There's even a digital entertainment company called DanceOn, which launched in 2010, dedicated to making videos about dance in pop culture.
“We are excited to be in business with a multi-talented creative force like Nick Cannon,” Susanne Daniels, YouTube's Global Head of Original Content, said in a statement. “We know our audience, especially the millions of music and dance fans, will be excited to see him back in a lead role. This drama has all the right elements to be incredibly popular on YouTube.”
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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.
