YouTube and the Mark Gordon Co. have announced casting for half-hour teen dramedy “Youth & Consequences,” headlined by YouTube star Anna Akana.
The eight-episode series is set to debut on the YouTube Red subscription service in 2018.
Akana, a filmmaker-actress-comedian whose acting credits include “Ant-Man,” “Miss 2059,” and “Stitchers,” has more than than 1.8 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, which has generated more than 133 million views to date. Akana also serves as executive producer on “Youth & Consequences.”
Guest starring in the series are Marcia Cross (“Desperate Housewives,” “Melrose Place”) in a recurring role as the school’s principal, along with Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride,” “The Art of More”) as Joel Cutney.
Rounding out the cast as series regulars are: Sean Grandillo (“Rise,” “Scream: The TV Series,” “The Real O’Neals”), Katie Sarife (“Cleveland Abduction,” “Supernatural”), Kara Royster (“Pretty Little Liars,” “The Fosters,” “Supernatural”), Sophie Reynolds (“Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything,” “Mostly Ghostly: One Night in Doom House”), Piper Curda (“Rule the Mix,” “I Didn’t Do It,” “Save the Date”) and Savannah Jayde (“Big Time Rush,” “Sisters of the Groom”).
In “Youth & Consequences,” Akana plays powerful teen trendsetter Farrah Cutney, the queen of Central Rochester High. But as her rivals rise, Farrah learns that the one thing harder than obtaining absolute power is keeping it.
“Anna Akana’s star continues to rise, and her YouTube fans won’t be disappointed, as she brings her unique point of view to this project from in front of and behind the camera,” Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s global head of original content, said in a statement.
About YouTube’s working with the Mark Gordon Co. — whose productions include CBS’ “Criminal Minds,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” — Daniels said, “Their powerful storytelling, combined with this talented cast, is going to draw viewers into this riveting high school drama as these teens deal with the consequences of their decisions.”
Gordon called “Youth & Consequences” a “vivid, captivating series featuring layered characters and storylines that keep audiences guessing.”
The straight-to-series project is created and written by Jason Ubaldi (“All Night”). The series is executive produced by Ubaldi, Mark Gordon, Nick Pepper, showrunner Blair Singer, Anna Akana, Tom Spriggs and Jesse Hara. The Mark Gordon Co.’s Jen Chambers serves as co-executive producer. Wendey Stanzler (“You’re the Worst,” “This Is Us”) directed the first episode
Akana is repped by UTA, the Coronel Group and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein.
Marcia Cross is repped by Gersh and manager John Carrabino, and Cary Elwes is represented by APA and LINK Entertainment. For the other cast members: Sean Grandillo is represented by APA; Katie Sarife is represented by Innovative Artists and LINK Entertainment; Kara Royster is represented by Abrams Artists Agency and Myrna Lieberman Management; Sophie Reynolds is represented by Don Buchwald & Associates and Randy James Management; Piper Curda is represented by APA and Curtis Talent Management; Savannah Jayde is represented by Abrams Artists Agency, Grandview, and Ginsburg, Daniels, Kallis LLP.
