'Family Guy' writer talks about tackling YouTube Red’s first animated series
Reporter's note: This is part of a series featuring each new original show or movie debuting on YouTube Red. The subscription streaming service's first slate of originals launched in February.
LOS ANGELES -- YouTube Red may not seem like the best place for an animated comedy series.
But for Michael Rowe, the Emmy Award-winning writer of Futurama and Family Guy, YouTube's subscription service actually was the place.
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This week, YouTube Red launched Rowe's show Paranormal Action Squad, marking the platform's first ever animated series.
The 8-episode series follows two paranormal enthusiasts, Pal (voiced by YouTuber SeaNanners) and Eddie (voiced by YouTuber TheMrSark) who, along with their enthusiastic neighbor Vanoss (voiced by YouTuber VanossGaming), have made it their mission in life to uncover the mysteries of the ghostly universe.
"Working at YouTube Red has been a dream for a showrunner, " Rowe told Mashable. "They basically give the toys over to you and let you play."
The series comes as YouTube continues to bolster its original content offerings, ranging from premium shows from its own creators to content more likely to appear on a network -- such as a Step Up series (which was announced at VidCon).
"Working at YouTube Red has been a dream for a showrunner. They basically give the toys over to you and let you play."
Animated content on YouTube has risen in popularity, with channels such as Drawfee (from Nathan Yaffe and College Humor's Caldwell Tanner) and Cartoon Hangover drawing in millions on a daily basis.
YouTube gamer Seananners (Adam Montoya) came up with the idea for the series, loosely basing it on his dad and his relationships with his buddies.
He, along with his friend and producer Hank Stepleton, started to shape the dynamic and found themselves laughing when they thought how silly it'd be if these guys were some sort of low tech ghost-chasers.
That's right around when Rowe came on board, and then the idea was sold to YouTube Red.
It is, as Rowe noted, an "experiment" of sorts for YouTube to see whether this kind of content will resonate as well as a hit such as Scare PewDiePie, a show from one of the platform's top creators.
Plus, there were some challenges that came with working with a newer streaming service.
"The budgets are not exactly what they are at primetime network shows," Rowe explained. "So, I didn't have a full-time writing staff, [and] things needed to happen fast so, while I was trying to get the scripts in shape, I had to be out there to supervise the records and the animatics. It was fun, though. We hope the Youtube audience gives the show a chance."
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.
