Reddit Launches Original Web Series

Published at 11:00 AM on March 20, 2013

By Mark Rozeman

Social media site Reddit may refer to itself as the “front page of the Internet” but now, with the debut of its first original web series, it looks as though it’s also aiming to become the next buzzed-about video site.

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, the website will play host to the video series Explain Like I’m Five. Based on the popular subreddit of the same name, the series featuers actors Michael Kayne and Langan Kingsley explaining various political and social issues to a classfull of children.

The first three episodes cover “The Crisis in Syria,” “Existentialism and Friedrich Nietzsche” and “The Volatility of the Stock Market.”

In the article, Reddit general manager Erik Martin states that they hope the videos, funded by YouTube, will encourage Reddit viewers to make and contribute their own videos.

“For us, it’s more about encouraging the Reddit community and bigger community of producers, filmmakers and animators out there to create content, video, web series, shows … based on Reddit content,” he says in the article.

Watch an episode below.