SubwayTakes host Kareem Rahma holds a PRESTO card. SubwayTakes Canada, officially announced at a YouTube Canada event on Thursday, is one of a slate of nine new 'creator shows' made by Canadians or in Canada.DUANE COLE/JOBFlocks
SubwayTakes is coming to Canada, bringing hot takes to the Toronto Transit Commission.
The popular YouTube talk show hosted by Egyptian-American comedian Kareem Rahma typically involves interviews with comedians and celebrities on the New York City subway – with occasional trips across the pond to ride the Tube in London.
But Rahma has been in Toronto riding the rocket this week – Line 1 Yonge-University to be specific – shooting an initial 14 episodes of subway-themed content while the cinematic spotlight has been on the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Toronto is one of the most diverse and exciting cities in the world, and there are so many interesting people here, from musicians to artists to chefs to comedians,” Rahma said in an interview with JOBFlocks, adding he said he expected to now return regularly to the city.
SubwayTakes Canada was set to be officially announced at a YouTube Canada event on Thursday that Rahma is hosting called YouTube Features – a rebranded version of the online video platform’s showcase for advertisers.
Rahma's show typically involves interviews with comedians and celebrities on the New York City subway, but the new spinoff is set on Toronto's Line 1 Yonge-University trains.DUANE COLE/JOBFlocks
It is one of a slate of nine new “creator shows” made by Canadians or in Canada – and not just by those known primarily as social-media creators, but by Olympians, celebrity chefs and CBC stars.
Well-known Canadian athletes Sarah Nurse and Tessa Virtue are set to launch new YouTube shows soon.
Nurse’s Sarah Tries it All will see the Vancouver Goldeneyes forward learn new skills working with professionals from chefs to fashion designers.
Virtue’s Virtuoso, meanwhile, is a new podcast series that will see the gold-medal-winning ice dancer sit down with artists, entrepreneurs and scientists at the top of their games.
In the culinary department, Matty Matheson’s Matty’s Farm will follow the Toronto chef and The Bear star as he sets up a farm in rural Ontario.
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Iron Chef Dad vs the Internet, meanwhile, will see chef Susur Lee and his son, Jet Bent-Lee, try out the latest viral recipes and food trends in their own kitchen.
The only scripted creator show being announced is Becky and Miranda, a new dark comedy created by Julie Nolke – recently named Creator of the Year at the Canadian Screen Awards – that she will star in alongside Nicole Power from Kim’s Convenience and its spinoff Strays.
“Creator shows” are a relatively new concept for YouTube – which does not produce its own content, but hosts it and splits advertising revenue with creators.
Users can upload episodic content under this designation and make their shows appear on YouTube more like how you’d see a TV show on a streaming service such as Crave or Netflix, with videos organized into seasons and episodes.
“You finish one episode of SubwayTakes, and it’ll take you to the next episode of SubwayTakes, rather than bopping you back into the wide world of anything else on YouTube,” explains Nicole Bell, head of YouTube Canada.
Rahma says he makes independent television that’s distributed on YouTube.DUANE COLE/JOBFlocks
For the top creator shows, YouTube will also help connect creators with brands that might want to come on board to sponsor them directly.
This is a way to entice more high-profile talent to the platform by helping them get money upfront to make content – and can also help established creators expand into a new market.
“So if you’re Kareem and you want to bring SubwayTakes up to Canada, we will try to match you with a brand that’s going to help fund that in a completely different way,” says Bell. “The creator makes that money, not YouTube. We’re just the matchmaker.”
Canadians, like audiences around the globe, are increasingly watching YouTube on their smart TVs rather than on their phones or laptops.
Rahma says 70 per cent of the viewers for his most recent episode of Keep the Meter Running – another show of his, where taxi drivers give him a tour of their favourite places in a city – were watching it on a television.
“I say I make independent television that’s distributed on YouTube,” he says. “The audience is totally getting in the habit of opening their TV and turning on YouTube.”