No, really.
Technically, Colleen Ballinger-Evans, the mastermind behind the incorrigible, fictional character, will be collecting the paycheck, but the eight-episode scripted series, titled Haters Back Off, will revolve around Sings, who thinks she’s a star but is, in reality, woefully untalented.
No launch date for the show has been announced at this time.
While a handful of YouTube stars have managed to land unscripted shows — E! recently pulled Grace Helbig, a self-described “charming idiot,” for a late-night talk show — this marks the first time a YouTuber has gone straight to a streaming platform with a scripted series. Increasingly, networks are looking to cash in on YouTube stars with a built-in audience. In this case, Ballinger-Evans brings with her nearly 5.8 million subscribers. And now that Netflix’s massive brand is involved, that number is likely to go up.
Miranda Sings launched on YouTube in 2008. The character is said to be Ballinger-Evans’ parody on ego-centric, talent-less singers with seemingly endless amounts of totally undeserved confidence on reserve. Ballinger-Evans recently appeared on Jerry Seinfeld’s show on Crackle, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, during which she stayed in character for the entire segment. Only at the very end of the show does the viewer get a peek at the actress’ true personality, which is shockingly grounded in contrast to her character. Ballinger-Evans has also made an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show (which also featured Jerry Seinfeld).
In conjunction with the announcement, broken by Variety, Miranda Sings issued a corresponding video, embedded below. For those unfamiliar with the YouTube personality, the video offers a taste of what Netflixers are in for when the show makes its debut, likely sometime later this year.
The Netflix original series is being co-produced by Ballinger-Evans and her brother, Chris Ballinger, along with Perry Rein and Gigi McCreery, who are well known for the work they did on Friends.
