C21 Media

http://www.c21media.net/archives/82005

Source: C21 Media, May 18, 2012


Electus adds Korean flavour

US studio Electus is prepping a new online reality series for its forthcoming YouTube channel, Loud, that will follow the lives of Asian Americans living in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

K-Town is the first unscripted programme for the pop culture channel, which is due to go live on July 2. The show was created and executive produced by actor Tyrese Gibson’s HQ Productions. Electus and fellow IAC-backed prodco DiGa will also executive produce.

DiGa co-founder Liz Gateley said that K-Town would look at an untapped subculture in American media. “In the same way the culture of Jersey Shore has their own lingo and philosophies, the K-Town cast has theirs and audiences will become enthralled with the individual personalities and fascinating lifestyles depicted in the show.”

Gateley and DiGa co-founder Tony DiSanto are former MTV executives, responsible for creating and developing hits such as Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, Laguna Beach and The Hills.

Tyrese Gibson has starred in The Fast and the Furious and Transformers film franchises and is also a Grammy-nominated singer. HQ Productions develops and produces original content for film, TV, music, publishing and digital.

The Loud channel’s full slate of programming is due to be announced in the coming weeks. Electus is also targeting Spanish-language online viewers with a mix of scripted and reality programming on a separate YouTube channel called NuevOn, which launched last month.

Andrew McDonald18-05-2012©C21Media

GENRES:

 Realilty

SHOWS:

 K-Town

PEOPLE:

 Ben Silverman, Liz Gateley, Tony DiSanto, Tyrese Gibson

COMPANIES:

 DiGa, Electus, HQ Productions, IAC, YouTube

SECTIONS:

 FutureMedia

COUNTRIES:

 US

Media Post

Source: Media Post, May 18, 2012
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/175040/new-electus-series-spotlights-asian-subculture-ta.html

New Electus Series Spotlights Asian Subculture, Targets The Masses

by Ross Fadner, May 18, 2012, 8:29 AM

Sensing an opportunity in developing content around subcultures, Ben Silverman and IAC’s Electus have partnered with Tyrese Gibson’s HQ Productions and new production studio DiGa to bring the lives of a group of Asian Americans to the masses in a new online video series called “K-Town.”


Set in the heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles (which is sandwiched between downtown L.A. and the Miracle Mile), “K-Town” is an unscripted reality show a la “Jersey Shore” that will follow the lives of eight K-Town residents, who each have their own distinctive profile.


For example, there is a sexually liberated former exotic dancer, a single mother who is a bartender, blogger and all-around drama queen, a nightclub owner of the hottest club in L.A. catering to Asians, etc.
“K-Town” is the first series from Electus’ new YouTube channel LOUD, which launches July 2 along with several other niche-oriented channels as part of Google’s push to host more premium original content on its video-sharing site.
Electus, a multimedia studio owned by IAC and Silverman, a former top network TV programming executive and Hollywood producer, is positioning LOUD as a video hub for edgy series featuring celebrities and other entertaining personalities.


This particular series is created and produced by HQ Productions and was conceptualized by Silverman with consultation from DiGa, which is co-founded by former MTV execs Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley, who collaborated on "Jersey Shore," "Laguna Beach," and "The Hills," among other programs.


"LOUD is the perfect platform for chronicling the social rituals of this uniquee Asian-American subculture,” said Gibson. “While nothing about this series is commonplace, the show is highly relatable, as the cast's personal stories, struggles and triumphs are universal."


"Asians have always been viewed through the media as either exaggerated stereotypes or the one-dimensional model minority," said Executive Producer Mike Le. "K-Town is a celebration of what it's like to be a young Asian in America today.”


You can check out the trailer for “K-Town" here.

Real Screen

http://realscreen.com/2012/05/18/electuss-loud-channel-heads-to-k-town/

Source: Real Screen, May 18, 2012

Electus’s LOUD channel heads to “K-Town”

K-Town, a reality series billed as being a ‘Jersey Shore for Asians,’ is to be the first offering on multimedia studio Electus’ pop culture YouTube channel LOUD when it launches on July 2.

The show is developed and executive produced by DiGa’s Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley, the former MTV execs behind Jersey Shore and The Hills, in association with Tyrese Gibson’s HQ Productions, and follows the lives of a group of hard-partying Asian Americans living in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood. Electus’ Ben Silverman, Drew Buckley and Evan Bregman will also executive produce.

DiSanto and Gateley left MTV in 2010 to form DiGa and shot the pilot for K-Town that summer. The cast includes a “sexually liberated” former exotic dancer, a drama queen single mom that runs a gossip blog, and the owner of the biggest Asian nightclub in LA. A teaser for the show bills it as a series that was too hot for mainstream cable outlets.

“Asians have always been viewed through the media as either exaggerated stereotypes or the one-dimensional model minority,” executive producer Mike Le said in a statement. “K-Town is a celebration of what it’s like to be a young Asian in America today. It’s not just about playing the piano and being great at math. We’re also sexy, stylish, have swagger, and can party with the best of them.”

“When Tony and I first met with Tyrese and his producing partners, we quickly realized that the concept behind K-Town was a very unique, untapped subculture in American media,” Gateley added. “In the same way the culture of Jersey Shore has their own lingo and philosophies, the K-Town cast has theirs and audiences will become enthralled with the individual personalities and fascinating lifestyles depicted in the show.”

LOUD will feature pop culture and celebrity-centric programming. It was conceptualized by Electus founder Silverman in consultation with DiSanto and Gateley. Electus head of digital Drew Buckley says the channel will be a home for shows such as K-Town that “challenge what is traditionally shown on television in so many ways.”

Watch the trailer below:

Read more: http://realscreen.com/2012/05/18/electuss-loud-channel-heads-to-k-town/#ixzz1vXMfpEoH

Oh No They Didn't!

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/69087353.html

Source: Oh No They Didn't!, May 18, 2012

K-town reality show still happening...premiering July 2 on the WEB!

THR EXCLUSIVE: Ben Silverman Teams With 'Jersey Shore,' 'The Hills' Execs for New Reality Series 'K-Town'

Teaser Vid:


The unscripted show, which premieres July 2 on YouTube, is set in L.A.'s Koreatown and produced by the Electus exec along with Tyrese Gibson, Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto.

Ben Silverman's Electus has greenlighted a new web series exploring the lives of young Asian-Americans residing in the heart of Koreatown in Los Angeles.

The show, called K-Town, is the first offering on Electus' upcoming YouTube channel, LOUD, which launches July 2.It was created and executive produced by Tyrese Gibson's production company, HQ Productions; Electus execs Silverman, Drew Buckley and Evan Bregman are also executive producers along with reality TV veterans Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto.

Gateley and DiSanto, the former MTV programming execs behind Jersey Shore and The Hills, left the network in 2010 to create the production company DiGa, which has a partnerships with Electus and HQ Productions. Buzz for K-Town began building that summer, when the pilot was filmed with the prospect of a network pickup.


Gateley told The Hollywood Reporter that Gibson (whose production partners are Mike Le, Eugene Choi, and Eddie Kim) approached the duo about six months ago. "Everyone is looking for subculture, subculture, subculture, and no one has really ever explored this sort of Asian-American world in L.A., so it was just perfect timing," she said. "We're so excited about it."

LOUD will focus on pop culture and celebrities, with consultation from DiGa. As for K-Town, "This could be the next Jersey Shore," said Buckley, adding that the10-episode seriesechoes MTV's hit franchise with colorful, engaging characters exposing their lives -- and drama -- on camera.Each video runs 10 minutes, and the show potentially could cross over into television,he said.
Thecast includes a trouble-making former exotic dancer, a gossip blogger who moonlights as a bartender and a club promoter. The plot unfolds in L.A.'s karaoke bars and nightclubs, and the new promo (see above) teases lots of skin, fighting and other Snooki-style shenanigans.

"What's great about it is that that they represent any sort of young, twentysomething crowd that's just trying to make their dreams come true," Gateley said. "But you're just seeing it through the streets of Koreatown as opposed to the streets of Jersey Shore."

Read more at ONTD:http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/69087353.html#ixzz1vXNXXdni

The New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/jersey_shore_for_asians_79AF3hIhiODbUMHwRZyC1L

Source: The New York Post, April 5, 2010

'Jersey Shore' for Asians

Post staff writer

Last Updated: 3:18 PM, April 5, 2010

Posted: 1:46 AM, April 5, 2010

Casting notices are out this week for an Asian-American version of "Jersey Shore."

This latest twist on the MTV hit series joins at least two other knockoffs -- a Russian-American version set in Brighton Beach and another starring senior citizens at a nursing home.

The formula -- six or eight people with strong personalities and colorful nicknames living away from home -- is proving to be more durable than anyone had guessed when "Jersey Shore" debuted earlier this year.

The information on the latest iteration came out this week in a casting notice posted on Craigslist in LA.

"Looking for interesting, attractive, colorful Asian-Americans to cast in a reality show similar to 'Jersey Shore,' 'Real World,' 'The Hills,' etc. . ." the notice reads.

"We need attractive Asian-Americans with lively, strong and unique personalities between the ages of 18 to 30 with equally interesting life stories and perspectives to share, especially individuals who know about and/or experienced the Koreatown life."

Casting isn't limited strictly to Asian-Americans either.

"If you are not Asian but are obsessed with Asian culture or people in some way, email us and please explain," it said.

The notice did not indicate which production company had posted the notice -- a clue to which networks might be interested.

OK! Magazine

http://www.okmagazine.com/2010/07/asian-jersey-shore-a-reality-%E2%80%94-tyrese-producing/

Asian Jersey Shore a Reality — Tyrese Producing

The search is over. The cast is in place and filming has begun on K-Town, a reality “spoof” of the Jersey Shore — featuring Asian-Americans instead of guidos and produced by model/actor Tyrese Gibson. The show is set on the shores of the West coast, in L.A.’s Koreatown.

Peter Le, pictured below, is being coined “the Korean Situation” and the show hasn’t even aired yet.

Le is a body builder and allegedly a porn star, according to Jezebel. The Situation is merely an exotic dancer.

Craigslist posted a casting call back in April that read:

Looking for interesting, attractive, colorful Asian-Americans to cast in a reality show similar to ‘Jersey Shore’…We need attractive Asian-Americans with lively, strong and unique personalities between the ages of 18 to 30 with equally interesting life stories and perspectives to share, especially individuals who know about and/or experienced the Koreatown life. If you are not Asian but are obsessed with Asian culture or people in some way, email us and please explain.

To see what will be in store, check out K-Town’s Twitter — muscles and booze abound!

The New York Times

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/on-television-asians-face-multiple-situations/

'On Television, Asians Face Multiple ‘Situations’'

The seemingly endless train of new semiliterate reality shows following the “Jersey Shore” model — maligning a generally underrepresented ethnic subculture via a careful selection of its most narcissistic elements — chugs along. There’s the Brighton Beach version. A Massachusetts version is reportedly in the works. And, at long last, the cast of “K-Town Reality Show” was announced this week.

Curbed does the requisite character mapping between the new show, which follows a group of heavily coiffed Asian-Americans around Los Angeles, and its New Jersey-based predecessor.

But while the styles may seem the same, there appears to be something different about this show. For example, as the Racialicious writer Arturo R. García observes, the dead ringer to be an Asian “Situation” is a bit more sensible on camera than the original. This fact alone may doom the show. (Who wants to watch a “Sensible Situation”?)

The members of the band Ching Chong Song might have benefited from some of that sensibility when they sat down to name their group. Searching for the worst band name in New York, Sound of the City selected the alliteratively titled duo.

Apart from having a bad band name, the pair, both white Brooklynites, have faced criticism — and even protests before shows at New York University and Bryn Mawr — from Asian-Americans who find the name culturally insensitive and even racist. (It is, quite obviously, based on a derogatory expression.)

The band apologized to Bryn Mawr students after the school canceled a show in 2007, but appears not to have responded to the charges by changing its name. And now that it’s semiofficially the worst in the city, why change at this point?

In Queens, an Asian situation of a different sort has at least one local blogger riled up. It seems that a former Bollywood movie theater in Jackson Heights, shuttered last year during a film producers’ strike in India, will not reopen. At least, not as a cultural institution. It’s slated to be replaced by a Rite Aid pharmacy.

Salon

http://www.salon.com/news/trending/2010/07/20/mtv_k_town_cast_reel

Source: Salon, July 20, 2010

MTV'S "K-Town" Pilot gets Buzz; "Jersey Shore" with Asians?
Reality series hasn't been picked up by the network yet, but the cast is already making waves Video

By Christine Mathias

"K-Town" Twitter feed

The cast of MTV pilot "K-Town". L-R: Young Lee, Jennifer Field, Joe Cha, Scarlet Chan, Violet Kim, Peter Le, Steve Kim, and Jasmine Chang

As if the world could handle another Snooki, singer-model-actor Tyrese Gibson is producing a show called "K-Town," which TMZ dubbed "Like 'Jersey Shore', but with Asians." The pilot was shot in Los Angeles a week ago and has yet to be picked up by MTV, but if the drinking, muscles and attractiveness of the cast are factored in, it could be a big hit.

The cast is already set up on Twitter, where you can catch bon mots from former exotic dancer Scarlet Chan such as "I love the orgies scene in True Blood.. I wanna hook up with a Vampire so bad." Word. Or try out Peter Le, who runs a softcore website and shames Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino with his rippling abdominals. In fact, Queerty takes up the burning question of Le's straightness, and dubs him "The Situasian."

The Examiner has a rundown of the cast and the early hype, and Best Week Ever remarks that "Guidoism knows no bounds." Blogger MTV Iggy focuses on Asian-American pop culture and has a wealth of information on the show.

The full, uncut cast reel was released to the public after TMZ leaked an earlier version, so check that out here.

Chelsea Lately

April 5, 2010

Mention on Chelsea Lately, Monday night on April 5th.

Watch it before YouTube takes it down!

TMZ

http://www.tmz.com/2010/07/18/jersey-shore-asians-k-town-reality-show/

'K-Town' -- Like 'Jersey Shore,' But with Asians'

If this video is any indication, the new reality show "K-Town" -- billed as an Asian version of "Jersey Shore" -- will do for Asians what the original "JS" did for Italians. And that's not a good thing.



TMZ has obtained this cast reel for the new show -- which has only shot its pilot and hasn't been picked up by a network yet. There's definitely a Situation or two, a Snooki, a Pauly D type (who is most likely a club promoter, not a DJ) and their version of Jwoww goes by Jwao (kidding).

GTR for life.