Roku users might, up until this point, have forgone exploring the service’s titular channel in favor of the tried and true favorites like Hulu, Netflix, or HBO Max. But the Roku Channel has just announced plans to up the ante with 23 new originals joining the 30 shows the streamer launched just months ago, including a host of well-liked if little-seen leftovers from (the now-defunct, RI…P?) Quibi, as well as four all-new shows from talent like Josh Groban and 2021’s main character, Jennifer Lopez.
Fans of Quibi’s Mapleworth Murders, Nikki Fre$h, and The Andy Cohen Diaries will have lots to rejoice about today with the news of the shows’ August 13 arrival to the Roku Channel. On top of all that, there are intriguing new offerings like What Happens in Hollywood, a docuseries directed by the Emmy-winning Marina Zenovich about the inner workings of tinseltown and the industry’s most “controversial secrets.†That joins Groban’s Eye Candy — which answers the viral TikTok question haunting the world, “cake or fake?†— as well as Squeaky Clean, a Leslie Jordan-hosted cleaning competition, and the second season of J.Lo’s feel-good Thanks a Million.
With eight recent Emmy nominations as well as a new Nielsen ratings report that says the service’s June “streaming reach ratings†came in sixth only behind Disney+, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and Netflix, it seems entirely possible that the Roku Channel might be revving its engines for a big finish to the year — though only time will tell if anyone’s really watching these Quibi castoffs and their Roku counterparts, or if people are just aimlessly clicking around, looking to fill a void or silence their inner demons with #content. Nevertheless, you can check out the full list here.