YouTube puts creators at centre of fresh TV-style slate

Quen Blackwell, Dude Perfect and Jesser are among the names set to lead YouTube's latest slate of original shows, as the platform continues to position creator-led entertainment as a direct competitor to traditional television.

Unveiled at Brandcast 2026, the new lineup spans talk shows, competition formats, travel programming, sports series, documentaries and short-form drama. It marks YouTube’s latest push to package creator content in a more premium, TV-style format for advertisers.

Blackwell will return with Feeding Starving Celebrities 2.0 – a celebrity interview series that sees her cook for guests while they chat. Dude Perfect will bring back Squad Games for a second season in 2027, while Jesser is launching multiple sports-led formats, including Jesser's Summer of Soccer and Pros Vs YouTubers.

The wider slate also includes shows from Alex Cooper, Kareem Rahma, Julian Shapiro-Barnum, Erling Haaland, Johnny Harris and Cleo Abram, alongside a travel series from Trevor Noah.

The announcements reflect YouTube's growing confidence in creators as the backbone of its entertainment offering – capable of sustaining returning formats and attracting the kind of advertiser spend previously reserved for traditional television.

Brandcast also included a series of new advertiser tools. YouTube announced custom sponsorships that use AI to match brands with relevant videos, a new masthead format that lets advertisers curate additional content around a main campaign, and expanded affiliate tools allowing brands to promote creator posts where their products are already tagged.

It also unveiled shopping updates, including the ability for viewers to buy products on connected TVs using Google Pay, and AI video creation tools powered by Google models including Gemini and Veo.

The announcement comes as competition for creator talent intensifies. Netflix, which abandoned its proposed Warner Bros. deal in February, has moved aggressively into the space in parallel, signing deals with YouTube figures including Mark Rober, Ms Rachel, Alix Earle and Jordan Matter – making YouTube’s renewed investment in its own creator slate all the more significant.