YouTube‘s 2026 Brandcast event welcomed advertisers, creators, and Chappell Roan to New York’s Lincoln Center on Wednesday night. And the biggest global purveyor of digital video also teased its all-new chapter as the home of the Academy Awards starting in 2029.
CEO Neal Mohan opened the presentation by welcoming the audience to the “new era of YouTube,” reminding everyone that the future of the Oscars is on YouTube as part of a multi-year deal that gives the Google-owned platform exclusive streaming rights of the film industry’s biggest award ceremony, through 2033. In fact, according to YouTube, there were more than 3 billion views of videos related to the Oscars on the platform over the past year.
In addition to the Oscars, YouTube is bidding a “Good luck, babe!” to other traditional studios and streaming services as it makes a push to be taken more seriously in various awards races for its own creator-focused programming featuring the likes of Trevor Noah and Alex Cooper.
Noah knows best
Actor, comedian, and former Daily Show anchor Trevor Noah hosted YouTube’s event this year taking guests through the platform’s most anticipated offerings. And he used as an opportunity to promote his own YouTube show later on in the presentation.
Trevor Noah’s World Tour is a new travel series where Noah will visit various cities along with friends, collaborators, and surprise guests who will join him for the journey. Each episode is expected to combine Noah’s signature humor with on-the-ground experiences to highlight local people, food and culture of each destination. Look for Noah to compete alongside celebrity-driven travel shows hosted by the likes of Stanley Tucci and Eva Longoria at the 2027 Emmys.
“Some of you may recognize me from stand-up comedy,” Noah remarked about the brave new world of digital streaming video. “Some of you may recognize me from my podcast What If. Some of you might recognize me from The Daily Show. Some of you might recognize me from the Grammys. But there is one place where you definitely see me, and that’s on YouTube. These days, everything is on YouTube. Everything.”
No subway required
Rahma’s viral series Subway Takes has taken the internet by storm as he gets celebrities like Charlize Theron and Colin Jost to share their hottest takes… well, on the subway. Earlier this year, it was reported that YouTube was organizing an Emmy campaign for the series.
Clearly, YouTube is invested in his future. During one segment, Noah sat down with Rahma on a makeshift subway set to introduce his new series, Keep the Meter Running, which premiered this week.
In each episode, Rahma takes a yellow cab and asks the driver to take him to their favorite place as a way to get closer to the driver and understand his upbringing and his world. For Rahma — whose own father was a cab driver — it’s also a way to learn more about himself.
“I’ve had a day at the Russian bathhouse with Eugene and Igor, and I’ve even put on a one-man show for my new friend John, though I call him Irish John,” Rahman joked as he teased some of the scenarios he’s found himself in so far in his new series, which could also be part of an Emmy push.
Call her Alex
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper is no stranger to the awards circuit. Her blockbuster podcast was nominated for a Golden Globe, and has also been recognized by the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Webby Awards. An Emmy could be next if YouTube decides to invest in an awards campaign for the celebrity-friendly show.
“The industry that spent more than 20 years calling itself an audio business just became video,” Cooper said. “It became YouTube. If you didn’t see that coming, it’s OK, most people didn’t.”
To continue her momentum, Cooper introduced a slate of new YouTube series through her media company Unwell Network. Unwell Games expected to premiere in the late summer and in the early fall is a reality competition series where creators and reality stars will live under the same roof to compete for power and prize money.
Pot Stirrer is a new two-part miniseries premiering Thanksgiving weekend. Cooper touted it as a social experiment where two “pot stirrers” are planted into a volatile group of reality stars and internet personalities, with each attempting to sabotage the night all for a chance to win a cash prize.
As short-form content continues to become more prominent, Cooper also teased her new microdrama series, Holiday Hard Launch, which premieres this winter. In it, two strangers agree to be in a fake relationship for the holiday. But then their staged romance starts blurring the lines between acting and reality as their friends and family start to call attention to the couple.
And fresh off the Met Gala, Cooper previewed her upcoming multi-part docuseries Before the Steps, which is expected to premiere next spring and will follow celebrities in the months-long preparation leading up to fashion’s biggest night.
No substitutes
While superstar creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum wasn’t present at the Brandcast, his shows were spotlighted as part of YouTube’s upcoming programming. The third season of his series Celebrity Substitute, featuring famous actors, athletes, and musicians going to public schools to teach their craft, will premiere on June 3rd.
Shapiro-Barnum is also getting into the late night game with a new weekly series, Outside Tonight with Julian Shapiro-Barnum. Premiering June 17, this talk show re-tailors the format for the YouTube age, capturing the spontaneous and irreverent energy along with interviews, games, musical performances, and laughs. As the impending exit of Stephen Colbert continues to shrink broadcast’s late night footprint, YouTube could rush to fill the void with viewers — and Emmy voters.
