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NBC has put in development multi-camera comedy Save the Deli, based on David Sax’s book of the same name, from writer Lauren Bachelis (Single By 30), This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff’s Divide Pictures and 20th Century Fox TV, where Divide is under a deal.

Written by Bachelis, Save the Deli is a family workplace comedy centering on a 30-year-old woman, who much to the shock of her family, friends and mostly herself, becomes the new owner of her Chicago family deli after her grandfather dies. Naturally, her very opinionated staff and family members make the job unbearable since they all have conflicting ideas of how to save the deli.

In addition to using Sax’s book, published by Houghton Mifflin in 2009, as source material, Save the Deli draws on Bachelis’ personal experiences. Her grandfather owned Mort’s, the Jewish deli in Tarzana.

Bachelis executive...

Wong Fu Productions -- an independent film production company founded by Philip Wang, Wesley Chan, and Ted Fu -- has made a name for itself in the media community.

Creating content that caters to younger audiences, Wong Fu has found a niche making content that depicts relatable stories and often highlights the voices of Asian Americans and other underrepresented communities.

Wong Fu may be best known for its digital shorts, YouTube Red series Single by 30, and other content.

Related: Origin Teaser - YouTube Premium Premieres First Look at Comic Con!

Its newest project, Yappie, follows a young Asian man as he navigates his work, social, personal, and romantic life after he's called a "yappie" for the first time--or a young Asian professional who acts like a yuppie.

Wong Fu has always dedicated itself to making work that its contributors are passionate about, and Yappie is no exception. The Yappie...

For more than a decade, Wong Fu Productions has delivered some of the best filmmaking on YouTube. The channel, run by Philip Wang and Wesley Chan, is known for creating short films and series that examine themes like love, loss, and the Asian-American experience.

Now, a year after delivering the romantic comedy Single By 30 through YouTube Premium, Wong Fu has returned to the independent distribution model it has often employed. Wang and Chan are the co-creators behind Yappie, which tells the story of young, upwardly-mobile Asian-Americans in Los Angeles.

Yappie's title refers to young Asian professionals who live the yuppie lifestyle. Its central character is Andrew, portrayed by Wang, who must juggle his job, his friends, and his personal journey toward self-fulfillment. Supporting Wang is an ensemble cast whose members are known for their work in TV, film, and digital media.

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Tim Shey, most recently head of YouTube’s scripted original programming, has moved back into the startup world after leaving Google earlier this year.

Shey has been hired at language-learning app startup Duolingo, where he’s head of studios and content. Duolingo offers courses in 31 different languages, available in an ad-supported free version as well as a premium subscription version that starts at $9.99 per month. The company says it has more than 200 million users worldwide.

“I had a really amazing seven years at Google and YouTube,” Shey told Variety. “I wanted to see what other challenges were out there and get back into a startup environment… I always wanted to take another shot at building out a new studio from scratch.”

Shey said he was already a fan of the app and the company, and jumped at the opportunity to “use content and storytelling to make a meaningful impact on the way people learn.

The onus of increasing Asian American representation on the screen isn’t solely on actors. If the parts simply aren’t there, then no amount of preparation can help if an actor can’t even get an audition or see a casting director, which is an issue discussed in Part 1 of IndieWire’s series about Asian American representation on TV.

More roles for Asians can only happen from the ground up. As Hollywood is only beginning to truly understand, diversity happens in front of and behind the camera. Until Hollywood starts seeing Asian actors as actors first and Asians second, that means Asians must step in to call the shots. They must be the producers, the directors, and the writers to create a more inclusive and culturally accurate television landscape.

Read More:Asian American TV Actors Expose the Difficulty of Landing Parts – With or Without an Accent

IndieWire spoke with a...

Digital producers cheered last year when the Television Academy expanded its short-form programming categories. But then they saw the nominees and winners.

Most of last year’s short form contenders didn’t come from digital-first producers or platforms, but came from traditional networks and talent. Adult Swim’s “Childrens Hospital” led all nominees, followed by the History channel’s “The Crossroads of History” and AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462.”

“Childrens Hospital” ultimately won the Outstanding Series category, which included just one independent contender: “Her Story,” about two transgender women living in Los Angeles. Besides “Crossroads of History” and “Flight 462,” the two other nominees were behind-the-scenes looks at popular TV shows: “Hack into Broad City” and “UnREAL The Auditions.”

In the short form nonfiction or reality series, another marketing series won, FX’s “Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

That wasn’t quite what...

New Form Digital has released its upcoming slate of pilots from its most recent incubator series, featuring both traditional and web-based stars. The digital studio’s incubator series (now in its fourth run) acts as a showcase for up and coming creators mentored and developed through the program. Pilots that have been sold in the past have included Streamy Award winners “Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures” and “Anna Akana’s Miss 2059”, YouTube Red’s “Single By 30,” “I Ship It,” and the Conan O’Brien produced animated series “Final Space.”

The newest wave of this incubator series includes content from web series stars such as Manon Matthews, Eric Ochoa, Alexa Losey and television stars Melissa Fumero (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) and Lisa Kudrow, who in 2015 signed an exclusive deal with New Form through her production company Is or Isn’t Entertainment.

New Form has a recent track record for including...

YouTubers Wesley Chang and Philip Wang are amassing a big following on YouTube via the duo’s Wong Fu Productions YouTube channel, and have recently launched the new online series “Single By 30” on YouTube Red. Expect that following to grow even bigger thanks to this video, in which the pair jetted to Florence, Italy, to […]...

In what amounts to one of the most epic encounters between traditional and digital celebrities ever caught on camera, Wesley Chan and Philip Wang of Wong Fu Productions -- the filmmaking channel behind the YouTube Red series Single By 30 -- flew to Italy earlier this month to meet director Ron Howard and the actor Tom Hanks as they were promoting their brand new film, Inferno.

Chan and Wang note in a video chronicling their journey that Howard actually happens to be their boss -- as co-founder of New Form Digital, the production studio behind Single By 30. But, more pressingly, Wang shares that he has memorized the infamous Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop rap that Hanks performed in the 1988 classic film Big, and says he plans to ask Hanks to perform it with him.

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With the success of shows like “black-ish,” “The Carmichaels,” and Issa Rae’s “Insecure” hitting HBO next week, it seems networks are finally coming (back) around to the black sitcom. Taking note of the trend are YouTube Red and Buzzfeed, who have partnered to produce “Broke,” a new sitcom from creator Quinta Brunson about three millennial friends trying to make it in Los Angeles.

The premise may not be groundbreaking (especially for a web series), but the characters are. Brunson plays Miloh, a laidback aspiring writer who lives with her two best friends, Mo (Maurice Williams) and Paul (Paul Dupree), and there is no trace of sexual tension between the three characters — a notably refreshing absence.

A focus on relationships isn’t the only thing thankfully missing from “Broke”: It also manages to find humor without relying on black caricatures or stereotypes.

Read More: Jay-z Explains ‘A History of...

Six of the world’s biggest Vine stars are slated to hit the road for a comedy tour dubbed Team Internet Live. The sketch show, which is being produced in the vein SNL and Mad TV, will also feature digital shorts and musical acts. It kicks off on Oct. 2 in Los Angeles.

Team Internet Live is being produced by Collab -- a digital studio that reps creators on Vine, YouTube, and beyond. Featured performers -- who count a combined 30 million followers across all social platforms -- include Darius Benson, David Lopez, J. Cyrus, Manon Mathews, Ry Doon, and Vincent Marcus.

While the cast members got their start on Vine, each has since branched out to other platforms and projects. Benson, for instance, appeared on CBS’ The Amazing Race, while Mathews will appear in YouTube Red’s Single By 30 as well as Comedy Central’s Broad City. Cyrus, noted for...

Who is your backup plan? That's what YouTube Red's new Single By 30 TV show asks. Below, watch a preview and the pilot -- for free. The first eight-episode season of this romantic comedy from Wong Fu Productions, premiered August 24, 2016 exclusively on YouTube Red.Single By 30 features two high school best friends who promise to marry each other, if they are still single by 30. Flash forward to 12 years later when the pair run into each other as adults. The cast includes: Harry Shum Jr., Kina Grannis, Eric Ochoa, Anna Akana, Hillary Matthews, Manon Mathews. Ryan Higa guest stars.Read More…...

Essentially “White Privilege: The Movie,” Elizabeth Wood’s fire-breathing debut is an adrenalized shot of ecstasy and entitlement, a fully committed cautionary tale that’s able to follow through on its premise because — like the remarkable young actress who plays its heroine — the film is unafraid of being utterly loathsome. And make no mistake, while the madness of her misadventures is captivating from start to finish, you will hate the titular “white girl.” But it’s what Wood and her star do with that hate that makes their collaboration special, these two rising super talents manipulating your vitriol with the grace of a contortionist and the recklessness of a tornado.

A cherub-faced college kid who sublets a Ridgewood apartment with her best friend (India Menuez) for the summer, Leah (21-year-old “Homeland” alum Morgan Saylor) slinks around a mangy fizz of yellow-white hair, floating through the heat with the breezy confidence...

It may sound odd that a show called “Gaycation” would visit the site of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, but Ellen Page and Ian Daniel seem unfazed.

“We’re here because we just want to see how the community is feeling and dealing with this,” Page says, next to a pensive Daniel. “And just be here for those who feel like they want to share their story.” The two friends and co-producers are standing next to some yellow police tape outside Pulse night club, the site of the deadly shooting that took place on June 12, 2016. The opening credits roll on “Gaycation Presents: Orlando,” and Page’s voiceover begins.

Read More: Lgbtq Filmmakers Grapple With The Responsibility Of Eulogizing Orlando Nightclub Shooting

“Gaycation” is a flagship series for Viceland, Vice Media’s television channel, which launched last year and is overseen by Spike Jonze. The four-episode first season...

As their first first viral video attests, Wesley Chan and Philip Wang have made it their life’s mission as filmmakers to prove one thing: Asian men are sexy. With Harry Shum Jr. (“Glee”) as the leading man in their new mini-series, “Single By 30,” the point is moot. In the series, Shum plays Peter, a nice guy living in Los Angeles working for the family business. With his thirtieth birthday approaching, and his parents thirsting for grandkids, Peter decides he needs to step up his dating game. When his party-loving friend Mark (Eric Ochoa) makes a Facebook event for what was supposed to be a quiet celebration, Peter’s high school crush shows up.

Read More: Anna Akana: How the Star of ‘Miss 2059’ Is Turning Online Fame Into an Empire

The recently single Joanna (Kina Grannis) reminds Peter of a pact they once made: If they were...

For more than a decade, Wong Fu Productions has served as a home for exquisitely-made short films. The videos shared on Wesley Chan and Philip Wang's channel are sometimes funny and sometimes deeply emotional, but no matter the subject of a particular Wong Fu short, it is made with precision and care. In recent years, Chan and Wang have expanded their scope.They produced a feature film called Everything Before Us in 2015, and their latest project is Single By 30, an upcoming YouTube Red series based on a previous Wong Fu short.

To celebrate Chan and Wang's success on YouTube, we asked them a few questions:

Tubefitler: How does it feel to have more than 2.7 million subscribers on your channel? What do you have to say to your fans?

Wong Fu Productions: We're extremely grateful to have our subscribers, it's incredible knowing that we have the potential to...

News that Time Warner has bought a 10% stake in Hulu for $583 million, but no seat on the board, created a bit of a tizzy in streaming-media circles these past several days. While it’s notable that Time Warner is making yet another significant investment in yet another corner of the online-media universe, that’s not even this sector’s most fascinating news of the past month.

Just consider these developments, all more telling about the future of entertainment to my mind than the Time Warner - Hulu deal, loaded as it is with Hulu’s complicated management structure, owner ambivalences, and eternally shifting business plan:

Alphabet/Google/YouTube is venturing into original programming in a big way, as first announced at VidCon, where it trumpeted a series with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum, based on the Step Up dance movies. At last week’s Television Critics Association meetings, YouTube...

Digital network Studio71 has added a handful of high-profile YouTube and Vine stars to its illustrious roster. The network, a subsidiary of German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1, has signed YouTube musicians Kina Grannis and Tiffany Alvord, as well Vine star Alx James -- who counts 8.1 million followers and 2.6 billion loops.

While Alvord is a California-based singer/songwriter with almost 3 million YouTube subscribers, Grannis will next be seen in the YouTube Red romantic comedy web series Single By 30. James, known for his sassy short-form clips, joins fellow Studio71 Viners Shonduras, Logan Paul, and Matthew Espinosa.

Additionally, Studio71 announced that it has signed YouTube lifestyle vlogger Tina Yong, tech review channel TechSmartt, reaction video hub Reaction Time, and sketch parody channel Miles Jai Productions. TechSmartt, headlined by Keaton Keller, features wacky iPhone case reviews and more, while Reaction Time showcases Tal Fishman’s reactions to popular videos suggested by his viewers.