Hey Creatorverse readers,<\/p>\n
In 2024, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan made his first plea for the Emmys to consider creators.<\/strong>\u00a0Back then, that call to action seemed ambitious. Now locking creators out of TV\u2019s biggest awards doesn\u2019t just seem shortsighted; it would be tone deaf.<\/p>\n YouTube has been actively campaigning for six creator-led shows <\/strong>\u2014 all of which have premiered new episodes on the platform throughout 2025 and 2026 \u2014 to be considered for an Emmy nomination this year:<\/p>\n Sean Evans\u2019 \u201cHot Ones\u201d for Outstanding Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Michelle Khare\u2019s \u201cChallenge Accepted\u201d for Hosted Nonfiction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Brittany Broski\u2019s \u201cRoyal Court\u201d for Hosted Nonfiction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Cleo Abram\u2019s \u201cHUGE* If Tre\u201d for Hosted Nonfiction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Kareem Rahma\u2019s \u201cSubway Takes\u201d for Shortform Comedy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Julian Shapiro-Barnum\u2019s \u201cCelebrity Substitute\u201d for Shortform Nonfiction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n And it\u2019s not just members of YouTube\u2019s curated list who are making this push. Dropout,<\/strong> the comedy channel with a devoted fan following, is campaigning for recognition in 11 categories<\/a>,<\/strong> including \u201cVery Important People\u201d for Outstanding Variety Series and \u201cGame Changer\u201d for Outstanding Game Show. The host of \u201cVIP,\u201d Vic Michaelis (they\/them), is also being submitted in the Lead Comedy Actress category.<\/p>\n For the past three years, YouTube\u2019s content has been more widely watched than anything else on television,<\/strong> according to Nielsen metrics. This week, in fact, the UK-based media analytics company Digital i agency found that average daily viewership on YouTube<\/a> jumped from 87.2 minutes in 2024 to 99.1 minutes in 2025. The same metric for Netflix dropped from 100.5 minutes to 93.4 minutes.<\/p>\n The audience is undoubtedly there. But for many in Hollywood, there\u2019s a perception that the quality of creator-made content is still stuck <\/strong>in its 2010s Buzzfeed era when it\u2019s evolved to be so much more than that. Khare\u2019s \u201cChallenge Accepted,\u201d for example, released one of the most heartwarming and thrilling deep dives into human perseverance this year with her \u201cI Ran 7 Marathons in 7 Days on 7 Continents\u201d<\/a> series. Abram\u2019s \u201cHUGE* If True\u201d explored the depths of Antarctica<\/a>\u00a0last month and interviewed Sam Altman<\/a> late last year.<\/p>\n Speaking of interviews, Kareem Rahma, Sean Evans, Brittany Broski and Julian Shapiro-Barnum have all pushed the limits of the talk show format in their own ways. Rahma\u2019s embrace of random New Yorkers<\/a> and Shapiro-Barnum\u2019s kid-focused episodes<\/a> have added a much-needed dose of humanity and delightful unpredictability to a format that\u2019s felt cut and paste for years. As for Evans and Broski, both use silliness \u2014 either through hot wings<\/a> or elaborate costumes and games<\/a> \u2014 to disarm celebrity guests and produce richer, more entertaining interviews.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the shows that are in consideration at the moment, they are humongous teams \u2014 tons of money, professional equipment, pre production, post production, regular production. We\u2019re making independent television<\/strong>,\u201d Rahma told my colleague Tess Patton during a YouTube FYC event last week. \u201cJust because it\u2019s not on a traditional network or streamer doesn\u2019t mean that we should not be considered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really important moment for creative work. The quality of work being made on YouTube is so insanely high it feels important to me that people are aware of that,\u201d Abram told me. \u201cToo often we have a conversation about TV and YouTube without understanding that YouTube is already TV, and some of the highest quality shows are already on YouTube.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ll see if Emmy voters agree.<\/p>\n Now onto the rest.<\/p>\n Kayla Cobb<\/p>\n Senior Reporter Lizzie Freeman in \u201cThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act\u201d (Glitch)<\/p>\n Glitch\u2019s \u201cThe Amazing Digital Circus\u201d finale grosses $20.2 million at the box office<\/strong><\/p>\n Creator domination at the box office continues this week with the finale of \u201cThe Amazing Digital Circus,\u201d<\/strong><\/a> a cult hit from Glitch. Limited event screenings for the ending of Gooseworx\u2019s series netted $20.2 million. <\/strong>Because \u201cThe Amazing Digital Circus\u201d is a one-time event, it can\u2019t have the widespread reach of \u201cObsession\u201d or \u201cBackrooms,\u201d which have so far earned $224 million and $212 million at the box office, <\/strong>respectively. But $20 million is nothing to laugh at, and if it helps Glitch make more indie animation, more power to them.<\/p>\n There is another creator who\u2019s going to the movies. PrestonPlayz is releasing his movie \u201c100 Hours Stranded\u201d<\/a><\/strong> in select theaters. This one definitely looks more like a fans-only affair, but it does continue the creators-in-theaters trend.<\/p>\n TikTok and Sundance\u00a0 are hosting a microseries writing workshop for creators<\/strong><\/p>\n TikTok and Sundance <\/strong>are teaming up to make a microseries writing program<\/a> designed for creators.<\/strong> The four-week online course will focus on scriptwriting for microseres and offer guidance to develop serialized, story-driven shortform shows.<\/p>\n Quick clarifying note: Microdramas are microseries now<\/strong>.<\/a> This is the new rebrand many are pushing, including yours truly. Basically, the term \u201cmicroseries\u201d better encapsulates the variety of genres that are emerging in this medium and puts some distance between higher quality shortform series and cheaper, pay-per-episode options.<\/p>\n Meta gives Facebook creators AI assistants and Instagram creators serialization options<\/strong><\/p>\n Meta announced several platform changes this past week. On Facebook, creators will now have an AI assistant<\/a> <\/strong>that\u2019s designed to help them better understand their audience, engagement trends and performance. This is a bit similar to YouTube\u2019s Ask Studio option for its creators. The offering will first roll out to creators in the U.S., Canada and India, and AI translations will be expanded to include Arabic, French and Vietnamese.<\/p>\n Meta is experimenting with a new Reels option that will let creators serialize their shortform videos<\/a>.<\/strong> That means shortform series on Reels will be able to play episodes right after the other like on TV. TikTok has a similar feature.<\/p>\n Michelle Khare on \u201cChallenge Accepted\u201d (Photo Credit: YouTube)<\/p>\n Creator content accounts for 44% of paid media creative<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly half (44%) of creator content accounted for paid media creative,<\/strong> according to a new report from CreatorIQ<\/a>. The report also found that two-thirds of increases in influencer marketing budgets came directly from paid media budgets. In layman\u2019s terms? Brands and companies are still investing heavily in creators.<\/p>\n Live streaming saw a 6% uptick in content in the first part of 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n During the first quarter of the year, the total number of hours livestreamed increased by 6.2%<\/strong> compared to 2025, according to a new report from Streamlabs<\/a>. That\u2019s not all the report found. Just Chatting <\/strong>\u2014 a livestreaming option dedicated to lifestyle content rather than gaming or any particular niche \u2014 accounted for 668 million hours<\/strong> in the first quarter. Twitch remained the biggest livestreaming platform in terms of total hours watched and was followed by YouTube Gaming and Kick, the fastest growing livestreaming platform.<\/p>\n For the uninitiated, Kick has more lax standards than other platforms, so it\u2019s not unusual for controversial creators like Clavicular to be booted from YouTube and find their new home on Kick. It\u2019s like the X to Truth Social pipeline but for streamers.<\/p>\n Google will let creators with 100,000 followers or more customize how they show up in search<\/strong><\/p>\n Creators are getting a major digital upgrade from Google. Now creators with 100,000 followers or more<\/strong> will be able to customize how they show up in Google search results<\/a>.<\/strong> When someone searches a creator\u2019s name, a visual snapshot of that creator will appear at the top of Google, and they will be able to pin their favorite posts and link their social media accounts. Google offers a similar visual overlay for traditional celebrities.<\/p>\n Judge Nick DiGiovanni on \u201c100 Cooks\u201d (Photo Credit: Food Network)<\/p>\n Nick DiGiovanni premieres his cooking competition show \u201c100 Cooks\u201d on Food Network<\/strong><\/p>\n Celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni<\/strong> debuted his cooking competition show \u201c100 Cooks\u201d on Food Network<\/strong>\u00a0Monday. The series follows 100 randomly selected home chefs who compete against each other for a $100,000 prize.\u00a0DiGiovanni and\u00a0Alex Guarnaschelli\u00a0judge the show, which is\u00a0 hosted by Terry Crews.<\/p>\n Speaking of the intersection between traditional TV and this new era, sports media company Overtime has partnered with Fox One <\/strong>on a new shortform competition series. \u201cRace to Glory\u201d <\/strong>will follow two teams of shortform creators that will compete against each other. Rakai, Sketch, Rose Ruland and Tylil are just a few of the creators who will be part of this series.<\/p>\n Accenture Song acquires the creator and social agency Whalar<\/strong><\/p>\n Accenture Song,<\/strong> the consulting company\u2019s tech-powered marketing division, will be acquiring the creator and social agency Whalar<\/a> from Whalar Group.<\/strong> The plan is for Accenture to use this acquisition to expand its reach in the creator economy and the influencer marketing arena. Whalar\u2019s co-CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk will continue in their roles and join Accenture Song through the acquisition as will Whalar\u2019s team of over 170 employees. Whalar Group will still operate independently and manage Sixteenth, Foam, Moby Ventures, The Lighthouse and The Business of Creativity.<\/p>\n This is the latest strategic acquisition from Accenture after the company acquired Superdigital in 2025 and Unlimited in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cRotten Mango\u201d and \u201cWhat Now? With Trevor Noah\u201d are releasing episodes on Tubi<\/strong><\/p>\n Several podcasts,<\/a> including \u201cConan O\u2019Brien Needs a Friend,\u201d \u201cRotten Mango,\u201d \u201cThe School of Greatness,\u201d \u201cWhat Now? with Trevor Noah,\u201d \u201cMoral of the Story\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cThe Deep 3 Podcast,\u201d<\/strong> will be coming to Tubi<\/strong> as part of a collaboration with SiriusXM. The deal isn\u2019t exclusive, meaning that these shows will still be available on YouTube as well as on other podcasting platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 1 Minute Talk Show\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n If your favorite part of \u201cSubway Takes\u201d is when a random New Yorker has a wild opinion, then you\u2019re going to love \u201cThe 1 Minute Talk Show\u201d (1.3 million TikTok followers<\/a>). The titular talk show is a desk and an armchair set up in an NYC park as the show\u2019s two hosts, Aiden Wall and Sean Kane, and band leader\u00a0MorrisCornCorn scream at and run down random passerbys for their weirdest stories. There\u2019s a mania to this show that\u2019s akin to something Eric Andre would produce. <\/strong>It\u2019s a silly shot of adrenaline, and sometimes that\u2019s really all that you need.<\/p>\n Amazon Is Making an AI-Animated Good Advice Cupcake TV Show. Its Original Creator Is Furious\u00a0(via Wired<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n \u2018Unbelievable How Accurate\u2019: How Paid Influencers Hype Polymarket\u2019s Odds\u00a0(via Politico<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Want more? Explore WrapPRO<\/a> now.<\/strong><\/p>\n This report provides a weekly deep dive into the creator economy. It highlights key trends, political and technological developments, data points and industry leaders all with the goal of making you smarter about this constantly evolving space.<\/p>\n The post Creatorverse: Here Are the YouTubers Pushing for an Emmy This Year<\/a> appeared first on TheWrap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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