After spending much of the last year signing some of Hollywood’s top creators, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman gave the crowd at CES in Las Vegas a first look at Quibi, their upcoming mobile-only streaming service, on Wednesday morning.
Quibi’s public unveiling — three months ahead of its April 6 launch — emphasized the app’s “Turnstyle” technology, allowing viewers to seamlessly transition from horizontal to vertical fullscreen video. This “engineering breakthrough,” Whitman said, has helped open up “an entirely new creative canvas for the best storytellers in Hollywood to delight audiences in ways we never thought possible. It will also help separate Quibi from other apps that cannot offer fullscreen video in the same way.
Backed by major investors like Disney and WarnerMedia, Quibi will release 175 new shows in its first year, according to Katzenberg.
Quibi, short for “quick bites,” is looking to differentiate itself from other streaming services by having all of its episodes run no longer than 10 minutes. The app will include binge-able shows, as well as movies — dubbed “Lighthouses” by Quibi — that’ll be broken up into 10-minutes-or-less episodes and released daily.
A who’s who of stars, producers and directors have already signed on to make shows for Quibi, including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lopez, Bill Murray, Ridley Scott, and Kendall and Kris Jenner. The plan, Katzenberg said, is to offer three hours of new content each day on the app and hopefully give viewers something quick and entertaining to watch while on-the-move.
Whitman, Quibi’s chief executive, said we’re going through a new “revolution in entertainment,” where mobile phones play a key role in reaching billions of people; Quibi’s goal, she said, has been to “build a new technology platform that could enable creators to tell stories in new ways for our mobile phones.”
During Wednesday’s keynote, Whitman pointed to Spielberg’s horror series, “After Dark,” as a clear example of making shows that leverage mobile technology. Spielberg, according to Whitman, came to Quibi and said he wanted his show to only be available to viewers at night, to heighten the spooky experience. Quibi’s engineers, she said, we’re able to make this happen by determining when the sun rises and sets for each viewer based on their location.
Quibi is betting viewers will pay to watch its collection of big name talent, with its ad-supported subscription costing $4.99 when the service launches, while its ad-free tier will cost $7.99 per month.
Katzenberg and Whitman gave a brief review of some of the shows and movies that’ll hit Quibi later this year, including “#FreeRayshawn,” a story of a young black Iraq War veteran who is running from the cops after they set him up on bogus drug charges. The movie will star Laurence Fishburne and is directed by Antoine Fuqua. Whitman then asked the crowd at the Aria to sign up for “Quibi Insiders” at Quibi.com, where the company will continue to share updates on new technology and shows as it gets closer to making its debut.
Check back on TheWrap later on Wednesday for an extended interview with Katzenberg and Whitman.
17 Best TV Memes of 2019: From the 'Succession' Theme Song to the 'GOT' Coffee Cup (Photos)
As 2019 comes to a close, let us harken back and remember some of the greatest gifts we've been given this year: memes. There was Alexei and his beloved Slurpee from Season 3 of "Stranger Things" (may he rest in peace), the "When the 'Succession' Theme Song Hits" meme of Kermit the Frog dancing, Marie Kondo instructing us to trash absolutely anything that "doesn't spark joy" and so many more. Let's take a pause to remember the TV memes that got us through the year 2019.
HBO
"When the 'Succession' Theme Song Hits"
This may be the most meme-able theme song of the year. It has been paired everything from a gif of Kermit the Frog dancing to a video of a doggie-DJ getting the aux chord at a party -- it's even been Nintendo-fied. The long and the short of it is -- this theme song just absolutely slaps. Props to composer Nicholas Britell.
HBO
"Game of Thrones" Coffee Cup
This is meme may have overstayed its welcome, but it just won't die. What happened was, somehow, for a split-second, a coffee cup that couldn't possibly have existed during the "GOT" timeline made it into a scene in front of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). It's not clear who's fault it was at this point, but in any case, the coffee cup memes will likely live on as long as Clarke and Conleth Hill (Verys) continue to toss the blame back and forth like a hot potato.
HBO
Marie Kondo
This year, Marie Kondo taught us all the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up -- and she sparked some relatable memes, from reaction images of Kondo saying "I'm so excited because I love mess" to her always relevant question: "Does this spark joy?"
Netflix
Meryl Streep's Scream
This moment from "Big Little Lies" Season 2 is actually a serious one in context, considering Streep's on-screen son was killed the previous season and her scream is one of actual grief. But out of context, you have to admit, it's pretty meme-worthy. Watch for yourself here.
HBO
Aunt Becky
When Lori Loughlin was named as one of the 50 parents embroiled in the college admissions scandal for allegedly paying $500,000 to get her two daughters into USC, the internet just couldn't resist roasting its beloved Aunt Becky.
ABC
Alexei and the Slurpee From "Stranger Things"
"Todd, listen to me. That man in there? I know he doesn’t look it, but he is one of the most dangerous men in the world. He’s murdered many children.” With those words, Jim Hopper set in motion a meme to remember, forever immortalizing Alexei and his cherry Slurpee. This is how we choose to remember him, the way he was in life: Angelic, red-tongued, and smiling. Rest in Peace, you beautiful soul. Gone but not forgotten.
Netflix
Lady Gaga and Bradley Performing "Shallow" at the Oscars
Who could forget the steamiest Oscars moment in history? When Gaga and Bradley nearly made out on stage in front of everyone watching the goings-on at the Dolby Theater that night, a meme was born. Gaga has said the performance was just good acting and that she and Cooper aren't actually in love... but we can dream.
ABC
You Were at My Wedding, Denise
It all started when author Denise McAllister tweeted a snide remark alongside an article about "The View" which prominently featured a photo of Meghan McCain. "Can someone explain to me the purpose of The View? It seems to me to be a roundtable of delusional mental midgets ricocheting ignorance and lack of emotional regulation," was the exact verbiage of McAllister's since-deleted tweet. McCain's legendary reply? "You were at my wedding Denise..."
Twitter: @MeghanMcCain
Jonathan Frakes' "Beyond Belief" Supercuts
Although Frakes' "Beyond Belief" stopped airing on Fox in 2002, this TV meme was still born in 2019. The premise of the show was that Frakes would tell several stories of seemingly impossible scenarios, and audiences would decide for themselves which were true and which were false. At the end, Frakes would reveal the truth. A supercut of catchphrases like "it never happened" and "it's fiction" birthed a meme.
Fox
How Many Times
This technically aired on TV, so here you go. A meme was born when Rep. Jackie Speier questioned Michael Cohen, former lawyer for President Trump, during his televised testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform this past February. Asked how many times he had threatened individuals on Trump's behalf, (50? 100? 200?) Cohen simply responded "more" until Speier finally raised the bar to 500 times, to which he replied, "Probably." Needless to say, the internet has had a field day changing the context for Cohen's response.
CBS
Andy King from Fyre Fest
Both a Netflix and a Hulu doc were released early this year, and they still count for 2019 -- as do the memes they inspired. A favorite is this wordless screen grab of Andy King, the festival producer who was told by Billy McFarland to offer a blowjob to a customs agent in order to get some water for Fyre Fest. He was the real MVP.
Netflix
Daenerys' Squint
In a screen-grab from the second episode of the final season of "Game of Thrones," Daenerys Targaryen smiles tensely at Sansa Stark during conversation with her. Twitter users began adding their own captions to the photo, and a meme got its wings.
HBO
Me on Ellen
Ellen Degeneres is known for gifting guests with ridiculous things. The "Me on Ellen" meme capitalizes on that by imagining scenarios in which Ellen gifts guests absolutely ridiculous things, like the ocean itself.
Photo by: NBCUniversal
The Flounder Puppet in "Little Mermaid Live"
When “Moana” star Auli’i Cravalho made her debut as Ariel for her first performance of “Part of Your World,” she was joined on stage by a puppet version of her companion Flounder that the audience found less than convincing. The fish-puppet's unblinking eyes and forced smile inspired many a meme that evening.
ABC/Disney
Adam Levine's Super Bowl Shirt
The Maroon Five singer was just minding his own business when suddenly everyone on Twitter collectively realized that Levine's shirt was the same pattern as a lot of commonly-owned Target furniture. But lucky for them (or unlucky, depending on who you ask), he took off that tank top pretty fast.
Getty
Hot Priest
Oh, Andrew Scott. Who gave you the right? This one isn't strictly a meme, per se, but it was such an internet-phenomenon that it deserves an honorable mention. Because we never learn his name on "Fleabag," he is simply referred to on screen as The Priest. But Twitter quickly bestowed upon him a nobler title -- Hot Priest. And the internet was never the same again. Phoebe Waller-Bridge explained why audiences thirst for him so hard in her SNL opening monologue: "It was because he was doing this one thing: listening."
Amazon
Kendall Roy Rapping on "Succession"
Another honorable mention goes to this famous "Succession" moment, when Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) sings an original rap to commemorate 50 years of his father, Logan Roy, running Waystar Royco. Many gifs circulated afterwards, but no one could have predicted the scope of Ken-W-A's impact. Here we are, months later, still humming along to "L to the OG, dude be the O-G-A-N, he playin'." Okay, maybe just me?
HBO
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And who could forget Alexei and his Slurpee from ”Stranger Things?“
As 2019 comes to a close, let us harken back and remember some of the greatest gifts we've been given this year: memes. There was Alexei and his beloved Slurpee from Season 3 of "Stranger Things" (may he rest in peace), the "When the 'Succession' Theme Song Hits" meme of Kermit the Frog dancing, Marie Kondo instructing us to trash absolutely anything that "doesn't spark joy" and so many more. Let's take a pause to remember the TV memes that got us through the year 2019.
HBO
HBO
