Roku Bolsters 2023-24 Slate With Content From Charlie Puth, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Saldaña, Jessica Alba & More – NewFronts
Charlie Puth
Image source: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Author: Denise Petski Source: Deadline
Roku is expanding its 2023-2024 slate with new series from Charlie Puth, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Saldana, Juanpa Zurita and more, the streamer announced during its IAB NewFront presentation in NYC Tuesday.
Roku also announced renewals for popular series including Honest Renovation, hosted and executive produced by Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis, for Season 2. The Great American Baking Show also will return for a second season, and will be accompanied by The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday Special for the second year, with a new lineup of celebrity bakers.
Roku also has greenlighted a second installment of its Meet Me franchise, from Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Cinestar Pictures. Following its first film, Meet Me in Paris, the second installment of the reality rom-com, Meet Me in Rome, will follow a new group of single women looking for love.
Newly announced series include unscripted series Charlie Makes a Record (wt) starring Charlie Puth; Carpe DM with Juanpa starring and executive produced by Juanpa Zurita; Side Hustlers featuring Emma Grede and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in association with Ally; and the first-of-its-kind food competition show Special Delivery, which gives audiences the opportunity to immediately enjoy the winning dishes from the show. They join Celebrity Family Cook Off, a celebrity cooking show exec produced by Sofia Vergara and hosted by her son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, which we exclusively reported earlier today.
Additional Roku Original talent and creative partners include Cisley Saldaña, Liz Jenkins, Mariel Saldaña, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Rich Eisen and “Weird Al” Yankovic
“Bringing together the power of the Roku platform and the strong storytelling of our top-tier global creative partners has made Roku Originals unmissable TV for millions of streamers, said David Eilenberg, Head of Content, Roku Media. “We’re thrilled to delight our audience with new premium original series and proud to continue the Roku Originals stories that audience already love, by bringing several series back for more.”
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Matt Cote /Eicoff and Paul Hollywood/the Great British Baking Show
The new titles join The Roku Channel’s upcoming Roku Originals, including WWE: Recruits, Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew, Morimoto’s Sushi Master, Match Me in Miami, Reptile Royalty, Lincoln Log Masters, The Marriage Pact, The Newsreader, Die Hart, Chad and more.
See new project descriptions below:
Carpe DM with Juanpa
Can I fly a jet, ride a bull, jump a Monster Truck? A lot of us have these strange curiosities buried in the back of our minds or saved in our inboxes for later. Yet we do nothing.
Mexican adventurer, social media star, and actor Juanpa Zurita is out to change that. In each episode of the bilingual series “Carpe DM with Juanpa,” he will face challenges that push his body and mind to the limit all across the United States. Along the way, Juanpa will show all of us the transformative power of stepping outside your comfort zone and bringing your inner adventurer to life.
The six-episode series is produced by INE Entertainment and ARCO. Eric Day, Mark Koops, and Sarah Davies executive produce for INE. Juanpa Zurita and Brenda Tubilla executive produce for ARCO. Dave Lingwood is also set to executive produce.
Charlie Makes a Record (wt)
Charlie Makes a Record (wt) is an unscripted comedy series that takes stories from Charlie’s real life and elevates them into borderline-surreal scenarios to show audiences a whole different side of Charlie and his talents. He’ll write new music, take his career to new heights, and attempt to balance super-stardom with a regular life… all while trying to silence the oppressive sense of crippling solitude racing through his head. This is the reality that exists in Charlie Puth’s brain—and you’ve never seen or heard anything like it.
The six-episode series is produced by Scout Productions. David Collins, Rob Eric, Renata Lombardo, and Michael Wiliams serve as executive producers. Ty Stiklorius and Mikaela Puth also serve as executive producers.
Side Hustlers
Side Hustlers is a docu-follow series where two savvy investors each mentor three aspiring entrepreneurs in a first-of-its-kind format. The investors guide the side hustlers through a high-stakes boot camp aimed at transforming their side hustles into sustainable main hustles that could potentially make millions. In the end, the investors and the side hustlers have a big decision to make: The investor decides if they want to put a large amount of cash into the business. And the side hustlers decide if they are going to walk into their boss’s office and finally quit their day job.
The five-episode series is produced by Hello Sunshine in association with Ally. Reese Witherspoon and Sara Rea executive produce for Hello Sunshine. Emma Grede, Co-Founder and CEO of Good American and Founding Partner of Skims, executive produces and will also appear in the series as an investor.
Special Delivery
Special Delivery is the first-ever food competition show that tests chefs on how well they can craft dishes for at-home delivery. Chefs will not only be judged on how well their meals turn out, but on overall branding, packaging, and pricing of the meal specifically designed for home delivery.
Each episode will feature a themed challenge, the results of which will be determined by both a panel of experts and an on-screen group of everyday Americans. Viewers can then get a literal taste of the action by immediately enjoying winning dishes from the show.
The six-episode series is produced by ITV America’s High Noon Entertainment and Ready Set Go. Scott Feeley and Adam Sher are the executive producers for High Noon. Donray Von and Meredith Sandland serve as executive producers for Ready Set Go.