Will Smith is the latest A-lister to set up a show at Quibi.
Smith will host and executive produce a stand-up comedy series called This Joka for the short-form streaming service. The 16-episode show comes from Smith's Westbrook Studios and Topgolf Entertainment Group. The latter's Las Vegas outlet will serve as one of the locations for the series.
"Will's love and respect for stand-up comedy runs deep, and with this series on Quibi, we hope to discover, learn from and uplift the next generation of diverse comedic talent," said Terence Carter, co-president of Westbrook Studios. "The goal of This Joka isn't just to laugh but to find the universal human truths behind the laughter."
The series will showcase up-and-coming and established comedians and feature a blend of stand-up sets, one-on-one conversations between Smith and the comics and documentary footage from backstage and around Las Vegas.
The comedians featured in the show are Baron Vaughn, Megan Gailey, Punkie Johnson, Sean Patton, Rosebud Baker, Shane Torres, Clayton English, Christi Chiello, Vanessa Gonzalez, Martin Urbano, Sam Tallent, David Gborie, Jackie Fabulous, Chris Estrada, Rell Battle and Daphnique Springs. George Wallace, Demi Adejuyigbe and Shawn Wasabi will make "special appearances."
Smith and Carter executive produce This Joka with Miguel Melendez, Brad Haugen, Lukas Kaiser, Erik Anderson, Chad Nelson and YuChiang Cheng. Lance Bangs directs.
Quibi launches April 6 with a roster of some 50 series, a mix of scripted and unscripted shows and daily news, sports and talk programs — all with episodes running 10 minutes or less on the mobile-centric platform. Users will pay $5 per month for an ad-supported version of the service or $8 to watch without ads. Some T-Mobile subscribers will get free use of the service for a year.
