“The Demi Lovato Show,” originally ordered by now-defunct startup Quibi, will finally see the light of day next month on Roku‘s free, ad-supported streaming channel.
All nine episodes of “The Demi Lovato Show,” with the pop star hosting a range of celebrity guests and experts, are scheduled to be premiere July 30 exclusively on the Roku Channel.
Lovato’s show will address “some of today’s edgiest social topics in frank and honest discussions,” according to Roku. Guests on the short-form series include Jameela Jamil, Lucy Hale and transgender beauty icon Nikita Dragun, with more to be announced. In each 10-minute episode, Lovato will lead discussions across a range of topics including, police reform, feminism, trans rights, sex positivity, mental health — and UFOs.
“The Demi Lovato Show” is the first of more than a dozen Quibi programs (rebranded as Roku Originals) to premiere for the first time anywhere. Roku in January paid substantially less than $100 million to snap up the assets of Quibi, after the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led mobile subscription-video startup went belly-up less than a year after launching.
Roku expects to release an additional 45 Roku Originals this year after bowing an initial batch of 30 in May.
“Some conversations can be difficult, but I’ve never been one to shy away from speaking candidly about things,” Lovato said in a statement about the talk show. “We wanted to create a space that normalizes living your own truth — where people can speak, engage and more importantly, learn, together.”
Lovato added, “There’s something therapeutic about having raw discussions that people can relate to and with ‘The Demi Lovato Show’ no topics are off limits and opinions are welcome. I’m so excited for people to see how these conversations unfold on The Roku Channel.”
It’s the latest project for the multihyphenate, who’s been busy of late. The pop star’s first podcast, “4D with Demi Lovato,” debuted in May, and they also appeared in YouTube docuseries “Dancing With the Devil” that covered the singer’s battle with addiction. In addition, Lovato has set four-episode limited series “Unidentified with Demi Lovato” exploring UFO phenomena at Peacock. Lovato also will star in and executive produce NBC comedy series “Hungry,” following a group of friends who belong to a food-issues group, and is developing other projects for NBCUniversal. Earlier this year, Lovato announced that they identify as pansexual and non-binary.
“The Demi Lovato Show” is produced by GoodStory Entertainment and Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. Executive producers are Lovato, Scooter Braun, JD Roth, Adam Greener, Alison Kaye, Scott Manson, Todd Yasui and Sara Hansemann. The series is directed by Hannah Lux Davis.
Quibi had previously announced its greenlight of the Lovato show, the working title “Pillow Talk With Demi Lovato,” in February 2020.
“Demi Lovato is a voice of a generation, and we’re beyond excited to elevate their voice with new audiences,” Brian Tannenbaum, Roku’s head of original alternative programming and ex-Quibi exec, said in a statement.
Roku has touted its deal for Quibi as an unexpectedly great value, with strong viewership of the programming across its user base. The company already renewed Kevin Hart action-comedy “Die Hart” for a second season (“Die Harter”), citing opening-weekend performance that set the record for a debut on The Roku Channel.
According to Roku, more active accounts streamed the Quibi shows in the first two weeks on the Roku Channel (from May 20-June 3) than the number of Quibi accounts did on Quibi over the nine months of the app’s existence — although given Quibi’s limited uptake, that’s not much of a feat.
Roku estimates that The Roku Channel reached U.S. households with an estimated 70 million people in the first quarter of 2021. The Roku Channel, which includes free, ad-supported movies and shows as well as premium entertainment, is also available in Canada and the U.K.
