TikTok is launching a live subscription comedy series in partnership with social media collaboration company Pearpop and creator Jericho Mencke. Pearpop told TechCrunch that episodes will run twice a week in June, with eight 30-minute episodes in total. The new series, which is called “Finding Jericho,” will stream exclusively on TikTok Live. It will cost $4.99 to watch the series. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
In each episode of the series, Mencke will interview celebrities and creators, including Griffin Johnson, Sloane Veronico, and Wasil Daoud. Pearpop says the series will touch on “unconventional topics you won’t see elsewhere.” Mencke will also do sketches to add a comedy aspect to the series.
The series was created by Pearpop’s development team Zack Bernstein and Austin Sokol, along with Mencke. Pearpop says the series takes inspiration from “Borat,” “Nathan For You” and “The Eric Andre Show.”
“Jericho’s random style and satirical troupes always start in one place and end where the audience thought unimaginable,” Pearpop CEO Cole Mason said. “His comedy is always clean, but with a one-of-a-kind edgy tone, for all ages. Pearpop is going to continue to push the boundaries for how creators, brands, and entertainers can work together and collaborate in new ways. Today’s news marks an exciting new milestone in that journey.”
Finding Jericho premiered on June 2nd at 9 PM PT on TikTok on Mencke and Pearpop’s TikTok accounts. The rest of the series will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 PM PT.
The launch of the subscription series comes as TikTok recently launched LIVE subscriptions, a new program that will allow creators to generate recurring revenue via payments from their top fans. The new service offers subscribers a range of perks including subscriber-only chat, custom emotes, badges and more. Creators must be 18 years of age and have a minimum of 1,000 followers to access the LIVE subscriptions feature. Users must be over 18 to purchase a subscription and to send or receive Coins and Gifts.
TikTok isn’t the only platform that has recently entered the subscriptions market. In January, Instagram also launched its first test of creator subscriptions in the United States, which offers followers paid access to exclusive Instagram Live videos and Stories, and more. Twitter has also been testing out subscriptions with its Super Follows offering, which recently added the ability for creators to host Super Follows-only Spaces.