YouTube's Grace Helbig moves to TV talk
Grace Helbig doesn't need a television show to be famous. The 29-year-old comic already has more than 2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, It's Grace, where she posts funny, frenetic videos from the perspective of what she describes as an "awkward older sister."
The E! cable network hopes those fans follow Helbig to prime-time television with The Grace Helbig Project, a comedic talk show premiering Friday at 10:30 pm ET/PT. Even though she'll be on a slightly bigger screen, Helbig is doing everything in her power to stay true to her Internet roots. Like most of her YouTube videos, the show will largely take place in a Los Angeles home and collect instant feedback from fans. Celebrity interviews won't be conducted on a couch, but in a variety of unusual places, ranging from Helbig's car to a grocery store.
Helbig will also feature fellow Internet celebrities, such as Friday's guests, her best friend and YouTuber Mamrie Hart and musician DJ Flula.
Helbig chatted with USA TODAY about the new show, YouTube vlogging and whether Channing Tatum knows how to do laundry.
Q. You were one of the early pioneers of vlogging and one of the first YouTube stars. How did you get your start?
A. I consider myself like a second wave YouTube vlogger. Vlogging started as a hobby — something I was partaking in purely for fun — and has now become a career, and that feels almost like an impossible reality.
Q. When you started making YouTube videos, was it always your goal to make the jump to television?
A. It was never a concrete goal. I had started in the comedy world in a more traditional way. I was auditioning for TV, film and commercials while I was making these Web videos from my house. The YouTube world just took off way stronger than the traditional media world, so obviously I focused more of my attention there. I've been really fascinated by how you can make TV as interactive as the digital space. With this show, E! is taking a real leap of faith with me and putting a lot of trust in this experiment that we're going to try to do together.
Q. The show is described as a hybrid talk show. What's the format and how did you come up with it?
A. The format is similar to my Web videos that I do now. I really want it to feel personal and intimate, and as if the audience is hanging out with me. It takes place in a house and there's no trying to hide that there's a crew involved. I wanted the fourth wall to be destroyed. I want the audience to feel like they're on set; they know the director, they know the camera guy, they know the boom operator's favorite type of deodorant.
Q. How are you preparing for the celebrity interviews? Have you been watching a lot of Kimmel, Letterman and Fallon?
A. I mean, it's going to be my own brand because I'm me and that's the only thing that I truly know how to do: be myself, sort of. I don't want them to feel cookie-cutter or carbon copies of what Fallon, Kimmel, Letterman, or Leno have done. I'm not so interested in what movie a celebrity is promoting or what television show might be premiering. I'm more interested in: "Does Channing Tatum know how to do laundry?" I guess the more simple, personal sides of people. We're going to try to find a happy medium between keeping it simple and silly, and also having guests be able to promote the project that they're working on.
Q. I'm excited to find out if Channing Tatum knows how to do laundry.
A. Well we don't know. We're going to find out. Talk about riveting, groundbreaking television!
Q. You've described your audience on YouTube as mostly teenage girls. Do you think they'll follow you to television?
A. I hope so. There's no way of knowing any absolutes in this industry — quick lesson — but I'm really hoping. I really want to keep the voice true to the voice that I have online, so it feels like it's created for them. But we'll see! The great thing about it is that I'm going to be maintaining my YouTube videos and my Internet presence throughout the course of the show, so I'll be able to get direct feedback and have conversations with the audience as the show develops and see if it's on the right path, if they're liking things, or if they have suggestions for things.
Q. What do you see as the biggest challenges to bringing your YouTube persona to TV?
A. It's obviously a bigger media platform than I'm working with online and a lot more people are involved. So it's making sure that the tone doesn't get diluted in the process.