Hannah Hart is the latest digital influencer to jump from the Internet to TV, inking a deal with Food Network for a six-episode culinary-travelogue series that will also encompass a range of digital and social content.
The yet-untitled six-episode series is slated to being production later this summer, tentatively set to premiere in the fourth quarter on Food Network.
“While I’m not a food expert… I do consider myself a food enthusiast!” said Hart, who has more than 5 million followers across platforms, including 2.5 million on YouTube. “I love to eat! And I love to travel. But most of all I love to share my experiences.”
Scripps Networks Interactive’s Food Network ordered the show to series, with each episode featuring Hart in a new city across the country — dining on a limited budget determined by that city’s average dining-out price. The series will be accompanied by a digital content on FoodNetwork.com as well as various social channels, including Hart’s, with a mix of video and other content.
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YouTubers and other digital-native talent have been coming to TV for years, with mixed results. Grace Helbig hosted her own late-night talk show on NBCUniversal’s E! last year but it wasn’t renewed after low ratings. Other recent examples include Vine star Jake Paul’s casting in Disney Channel’s tween-themed “Bizaardvark,” and Issa Rae’s “Insecure” forthcoming comedy on HBO. Netflix, too, has been mining the digital domain for talent: Its original series “Haters Back Off” starring Colleen Ballinger as the awkward and heavily lipsticked Miranda Sings is set to debut on the service Oct. 14, has ordered a docu-series featuring social-media star Cameron Dallas.
Hart, in addition to maintaining her YouTube channel, is the author of “My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut,” which spent six weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Her sophomore book, “Buffering: Unshared Tales Of A Life Fully Loaded,” is scheduled to be published in October 2016.
Hart co-produced and also stars in Lionsgate comedy “Dirty 30” alongside frequent collaborators and YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart (who is unrelated to Hannah), slated to debut Sept. 23. Last summer, Hart signed with multichannel network Kin Community.
“The deep connection viewers of all ages, especially millennials, have to food and food-adjacent content makes Food Network the perfect place for Hannah to continue to explore her own food adventure,” said Kathleen Finch, chief programming, content and brand officer for Scripps Networks.
The Hannah Hart series on Food Network is produced by Warrior Poets, founded by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and Jeremy Chilnick, along with Hart and Linnea Toney.
Hart is repped by UTA, Linnea Toney and attorney Ryan Pastorek.
