Facebook’s latest bid to drive viewers to its Watch video platform involves Stephen Curry, an animated series starring Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron, and a reboot of the best TV show that MTV ever aired—The Real World.
At an event in New York today, Facebook offered details on the previously announced Real World reboots that it is putting on with MTV Studios and the original Bunim/Murray production company. The new reality series will tell the true story of what happens when the Facebook generation enters The Real World. The reboot will be made for audiences in the U.S., Mexico, and Thailand, and Facebook announced the exciting tidbit that Facebook users will be able to vote on the final cast member to join each of the new Real World houses. Voting will take place on The Real World‘s Facebook page (natch). The U.S. casting poll opens this week, while voting for Mexico and Thailand will kick off the week of March 11.
Facebook Watch is also chumming the Real World water by bringing back three full past seasons of the series and letting fans vote on which seasons should be brought back. (Vote for the best—Season 3 in San Francisco!) The seasons with the most votes will be announced on March 25 and will be available to view on Facebook Watch leading up to the new season premiere set for sometime this spring.
Following on its purported success with the sports show Tom vs. Time, which followed New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to another Super Bowl victory, Facebook Watch is now turning its attention to basketball. Cameras have been following Golden States Warriors star Stephen Curry from the end of the last NBA season, getting access to time with his family and team as he tries to retrace his steps to another championship.
Finally, Facebook thinks fans will be willing to log on watch a new animated comedy series, called Human Discoveries, which stars Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron. The show, which was created by some of the producers of Bojack Horseman, follows a group of friends at the dawn of human civilization as they discover the best and worst of humanity, like art, alcohol, and small talk. The show is slated to debut on Facebook Watch later in 2019.
The new shows will join Facebook’s lineup of original A-list helmed Watch series, which include teen drama Five Points from Kerry Washington; black comedy Queen America starring Catherine Zeta-Jones; and the heartwrenching Sorry For Your Loss, which stars Elizabeth Olsen. There’s plenty of unscripted fare, too, including Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, which boasts a Facebook community that is some 450,000 strong and Instagram influencer Huda Kattan’s reality show Huda Boss.
The new additions are a part of Facebook’s once again revamped original-content strategy. The idea is to showcase programming that can build fan communities, taking advantage of Facebook’s built-in interactive social features like Groups and Watch Parties, while at the same time creating shows that are brand-friendly, brand safe, and perfect for advertisers.
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