Will Smith & Alicia Keys Docuseries Lead Latest YouTube Originals Lineup

Peter White
·2 min read
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YouTube is lining up more original docuseries and has teamed up with Will Smith and Alicia Keys on separate projects for its latest programming lineup.

The digital platform unveiled a swathe of originals at its Brandcast Delivered advertising event.

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Best Shape of My Life (w/t) is a six-part fitness series from Smith’s Westbrook Media. It is the story of Smith challenging himself to improve every aspect of his fitness, from agility to power to recovery and more, teaming up with guests including pro athletes, scientists and experts, and top YouTube creators.

Premiering next year, Dexton Deboree, who directed Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1, will direct and showrun. It marks the second YouTube original for Smith, who previously teamed up with the Google-owned platform for Will Smith: The Jump.

Alicia Keys is also the focus on a docuseries premiering this summer. The pop star is fronting Noted (w/t), which will see her invite fans to peer into her world as she celebrates the 20th anniversary of Songs in A Minor and heading into the studio to record her eighth album. Noted is a four-part series from Westbrook Media.

Rap group Migos is behind Ice Cold, a docuseries that uses the prism of hip-hop jewelry to explore deeper issues around racial inequity and the American Dream. Directed by Supervillain director Karam Gill, the series will air as four short episodes on Migos’ YouTube Channel this summer. It is produced by Quality Films, Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios and Polygram Entertainment, MGX Creative, and Mass Appeal.

LeBron James and Maverick Carter will exec produce Recipe for Change (w/t), which will bring together Asian American celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators to celebrate API culture and discuss the recent and historic acts of hate and violence against the API community. Premiering June 16, the special will be produced by the SpringHill Company. Michelle Kwan and Dennis Cheng will also executive produce alongside Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron, showrunner Joel Relampagos, and director Rich Kim.

Finally, Barbershop Medicine is a special that will explore the impact race and socioeconomic status have on healthcare and longevity. Musical artist Masego, physicians Dr. Italo Brown and Dr. Jamie Rutland and community members will come together in a barbershop to discuss today’s most pressing health concern, COVID-19. The special is from the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund and is executive produced by Charles D. King, Marta Fernandez, Jelani Johnson, and Aisha Corpas Wynn for Macro Television Studios and Culture House. Hashim Williams is executive producer and showrunner.

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