iJustine, Lilly Singh among guests on YouTube Red's 'Prank Academy'
Editor'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 -- Jesse Wellens and girlfriend Jeana are taking their pranking to the next level.
The duo -- known for their YouTube channel PrankvsPrank -- are gearing up for the debut of their new YouTube Red series Prank Academy, which will be released on the platform Wednesday.
You May Also Like
The 18-episode series follows the couple as they mentor other creators — including Joey Graceffa, iJustine, Miranda Sings, VitalyzdTV, Lilly Singh and Harley Morenstein — and teach them how to pull off their most ambitious and complicated pranks.
So why take the backseat to actually pranking each other? For the couple, the series was a way to diversify their content offerings to fans.
"We have been pranking each other on the Internet and beyond that since like 2007," Jesse said. "We’ve done every single thing you could do each other at this point. It’s getting hard to prank each other."
That's why they decided to get their friends involved in the fun.
"We chose a lot of our good friends," Jeana said. "There were definitely some other people we also wanted but with their schedules they just weren't available. But it was fun and we got a lot of good people."
Of their guests, Jesse and Jeana said Justine was probably the best prankster.
Even before the YouTube Red series, the duo dabbled in giving their friends prank tutorials. Most notably, back in 2014, their video featuring YouTuber Caspar Lee (who has 5.9 million subscribers) racked up 7.2 million views.
"When we found out YouTube was looking to do bigger productions for Red, we thought 'here’s a great idea,'" Jesse said, noting they first approached the video giant about a year and a half ago with the idea.
The series was also a way to showcase how to pull off a good prank. The art of pranking has become even more popular over the past few years on YouTube, with many -- including notoriously hated prankster Sam Pepper -- faking their pranks to get views.
The show took about a month and a half to write and three to four months to shoot, making the total production time about six to eight months. The full YouTube Red episodes are about 11 to 12 minutes each.
For those who don't have YouTube Red, Jeana said they will be putting up shorter versions of the pranks on their channel for free.
"You'll still get a piece of the prank," Jesse added.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
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.
