From YouTube to The CW: My Last Days makes the jump to linear TV

Also announced at the upfronts, The CW is partnering with Wayfarer to launch CWGOOD, a new digital platform that will give network stars the opportunity to highlight social projects they are involved with off camera. My Last Days is the first series of content that will debut on the platform, but Gina Rodriguez, Stephen Amell, and the cast of the Flash also have projects in the works.

For more on My Last Days and CWGOOD, we spoke with the Wayfarer team:

Found Remote: Why was CWGOOD launched at the upfront? What are the details?

Justin Baldoni (CEO and co-founder): As a content studio, a network, and producers…we have a responsibility to do good with the platform we’re given. Our audience gives us their most valuable asset — time. In return, we owe them our most valuable asset — our ability to affect change. CWGOOD was launched at the CW upfront because it’s the first time that a network has dedicated an entire vertical to content about the causes that its stars and fans are passionate about. The platform will launch in August, kicked off by the second season of My Last Days, our docuseries produced in association with our friends at SoulPancake. The series is all about how to truly live, as told by those who are dying. It will be simulcast on The CW as a three-night special, and it starts by asking our viewers: "Why are we so afraid to talk about death?"

Found Remote: Why is Wayfarer Entertainment involved?

Justin Baldoni: CWGOOD as a platform is partnership between The CW and Wayfarer Entertainment. We saw a massive opportunity to create a new platform that we felt could revolutionize the way stars interacted with not just their fans, but with the network itself. As an actor on the network, I noticed a gap between the type of content being created on SEED (CW’s current digital vertical) and the content we had been creating at Wayfarer. For the last three years we have been focused on creating what we call “Chocolate Covered Broccoli,” content that’s both commercially viable yet at its core is all heart and good for you. So we though, let’s just pitch it — why not? The world is changing, millennials and Gen Z are awake and hungry for meaningful and impactful story telling, and The CW has a massive following with huge engagement with an audience that is ready and willing to consume it. So we pitched it, and Rick Haskins, who I’m convinced is an angel in disguise, said “Let's do it.” And the rest is history. Also, I can’t think of a better network to lead the pack in the impact space then a network who took the risk on Jane the Virgin with so much superhero themed programming. I mean, if you really think about it.. what is a superhero? It’s every single one of us. Deep inside we all want to be that person, overcoming obstacles, and fighting for the betterment of humanity and thats what we are doing with CWGOOD and MY LAST DAYS. So we felt if we could tap into that, and empower networks stars to show their super powers off screen, then maybe we could really be onto something.

Found Remote: How and why did you create Wayfarer?

Ahmed Musiol (President and co-founder): Because we recognize that content can do more. We believe that art can’t change the world, but it can inspire our audience to get up and change the world around them. Sometimes that means they pick up a phone to call their mom, and sometimes it means they go volunteer at a homeless shelter. Doing good isn’t a competition. Every single part of it is needed. So, we create what we call “chocoli” or chocolate covered broccoli. At the core of all our content is something meaningful for our audience, and its drenched in entertainment to make it commercially viable. Wayfarer’s mission is to bring storytelling back to its original purpose — teaching, entertaining, and connecting us all.

Found Remote: What is My Last Days all about?

Ahmed Musiol: My Last Days is a story about living told from the perspective of those who are dying. When Justin created this concept, it stemmed from a quote in the Baha’i faith that says, “I have made death a messenger of joy for thee, wherefore dost thou grieve?” It inspired Justin to find a way to uncover the beauty and shine a light on something that is so often talked about in a depressing way. So, we set out to find spectacular stories of extraordinary individuals. What they shared with us was more than we ever anticipated, and we learned so much about what a life worth living is truly about. Hopefully, it inspires the audience to get up and become a part of their own world, and to take ownership of their human experience.

Found Remote: What was it like to see the first season go viral?

Ahmed Musiol: It was a sincerely pivotal moment for us because it proved that what we believed about creating this type of content was true — the world was hungry for something that was honest, real, and deep. The reality is, though, that for us it isn’t about how many people watched. One day, I was looking through the YouTube comments and saw one from someone who said they’d just gotten out of the hospital for their most recent suicide attempts. After watching Zach’s story, they said they’d come to realize the value of their own life and would no longer make these attempts. If no one else ever saw My Last Days, we would all be just as overcome with gratitude for the impact it had. Our intention isn’t to be the most popular. It’s to reflect truth, and in turn, inspire change.

Found Remote: Tell us about the experience you had shooting the second season.

Ahmed Musiol: I almost didn’t go. I had just come off the road working on some very intense shoots, and had two random deaths in my extended family during that time. When I talked to Justin, he reminded me of just how much healing comes from the process of creating this beautiful series. So, I went. And he was right. Meeting the cast of season two in person was extraordinary. Getting to understand from such a sincere perspective what it means to really struggle and overcome the greatest of obstacles was such a gift. And their families — wow. The strength, selflessness, love, and courage every single one of them bring was a tremendous lesson, and helps us all to strive to become our best selves.

Found Remote: What does it mean to you to be an influencer?

Justin Baldoni: Hopefully it means I can use my small platform to be of service to my community and the community at large. If we’re not using our art, our talents, and our platforms to help make this world better than we found it, then I don’t think we are living up to our responsibility to be in these privileged positions. My accountability to contributing to the unity of mankind is paramount in how I try to approach everything I do, and at the end of the day as long as I am trying then I’m happy.

Found Remote: How is digital affecting television?

Farhoud Meybodi (head of TV, partner): I think digital has disrupted TV’s status quo in a very positive way. What was once a gilded institution with a quasi monopoly over non-cinema based entertainment has been shaken to the core. After all, we’re living in an age where a user generated piece of content shot in a Kohl’s parking lot for nothing is seen by more people than the highest rated primetime shows of the week played back to back. Absolutely mind blowing! Look at Netflix, instead of forcing creatives to pour their time and energy in pilots that have no guarantee of making it on air and then only approving shows based on metrics, they’ve built an empire giving brilliant minds the freedom to create without the necessity of notes or approval from higher ups. House of Cards. Making of a Murderer. Master of None. These were not accidents. Each project represented a calculated risk that linear outlets weren’t ready to take. And their dedication to innovation has resulted in critically acclaimed content, over 81 million subscribers globally and five billion dollar commitment towards original programming in 2016 (beating Time Warner by a couple hundred million). Look at YouTube. It’s essentially a next generation free to air provider that, like a broadcast network, relies on ad dollars as it’s primary stream of revenue. They’re doing roughly 4 billion annually, and their top performer has more subscribers HBO. Sure, these are all great stats for an outlet that didn’t even exist fifteen years ago — but is the content pushing us forward as a species? Does watching a child open a toy tractor or a teenager prank beachgoers qualify as art? That’s an entirely subjective question. Before we judge, lets not forget that some sixty years ago, TV was considered low art compared to film. Thankfully, networks have begun paying more and more attention to successful case studies from the digital space and are shifting their business models to reflect the new world order. For example, CBS “All Access” mirrors the YouTube Red monthly subscription model but has something Google can’t quite compete with — the new Star Trek Series (based on one of the greatest mythologies of our time), which will be airing exclusively on the platform in 2017. Talk about a brilliant way to build your subscriber base! And NBC’s Aquarius, which debuted an entire season’s worth of episodes digitally on the same night as the first episode’s linear premiere. Let’s not forget that clips from James Corden’s juggernaut Carpool Karaoke have surpassed one billion views on YouTube, prompting a primetime special and a standalone TV series. Each of these examples showcases a positive way that digital space has disrupted television, forcing networks to evolve their offerings to not only keep up with the changing times but hopefully introduce their own innovations as well.