PBS Digital Studios is expanding its web video output with three new YouTube series: Deep Prep, UnderH2O and Short of the Week.
The programs join an expansive slate of online-only content from the year-old YouTube channel that includes offerings such as Idea Channel and It’s Okay To Be Smart.
Deep Prep, which joined the Digital Studios network April 1, is a weekly cooking show hosted by Seattle chef Jesse Smith, who has appeared on the Food Network. Smith already had a YouTube presence prior to joining PBS. Other food-related offerings from Digital Studios include Bon Appétempt and the KLRU web series BBQ with Franklin.
UnderH2O is produced by underwater video-production house HD Under H2O, which has won Emmy awards for its footage. The program will release new episodes every other week. Its first offering, “When a Volcano Erupts Underwater,” was posted April 15 and has racked up more than 29,000 views to date.
Short of the Week is an online curator of independent short narrative features that has been operating since 2007. The PBS Digital Studios program, announced April 17, will present three to five short films on a similar theme in each episode, programmed and hosted by SOTW editor Ivan Kander. The first one, posted the same day as the announcement, strings together a series of “Unconventional Zombie Films.”