“They don’t come from Hollywood, but might come from Wattpad or TikTok,” Fox CTO Melody Hildebrandt said of what Tubi is looking for in a Stubiorunner. “They all have social followings, but they’re not expected to be in front of the camera necessarily. The guiding ethos of this is ‘no barriers.’
“We feel we have this opportunity to allow creatives to deliver their content to Hollywood with no barriers, which is the aspiration for so many of them,” she added. (It’s worth noting that even though Tubi has a robust catalog of international offerings, the Stubios program is—for now at least—only open to U.S. creators.)
According to Hildebrant, Stubiorunners will receive a flat fee for their intellectual property, an executive producer credit and additional compensation for the other hats they wear as their project comes together, be it screenwriter, director or star—or all of the above. And their content generation won’t be limited to the finished product. Parlapiano said fans will be given a behind-the-scenes pass as part of their role as Stubios producers.
“We’re going to pull up the curtain, and they’re going to get to see everything that happens,” she explained. “Fans are a part of the process and a part of the decision-making as well. There’s a ton of curiosity into how all of this gets done, and it’s usually behind a closed door. We’re really excited for fans to have a voice here.”
Because betting on Hollywood outsiders can be a gamble, Tubi thought it would be helpful to have an insider show them the ropes. That’s why Issa Rae and her management company, ColorCreative, have been enlisted to provide mentorship and production support as Lady Love and her fellow Stubiorunners navigate the transition from social media to an established streamer.
It’s a career jump that Rae has some experience with—after all, her hit HBO series, Insecure, started its life as a YouTube sensation, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.
“We know Issa’s success story,” said Parlapiano, adding that Tubi might explore bringing in other mentors to oversee future cohorts. “She’s also been quite vocal about how we haven’t seen a ton more Issa Raes in the current environment, and that’s a shame. She’s very interested in helping these first-time filmmakers from a value perspective.”
