Will Smith launches Snapchat 'chat show' series to entertain viewers during lockdown
Will Smith is launching his own 'chat show'-style series on Snapchat which will be filmed in his garage during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The original series, titled Will From Home, will span 12 episodes and will feature the actor chatting to his family, special celebrity guests such as Tyra Banks and ordinary people who have stories to tell.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Snapchat's head of original content Sean Mills said the idea came about after conversations between Snapchat and Smith's production company Westbrook Media.
"Will was feeling a lot of pent-up creative energy and was excited to do something with it in a new and different way," he said.
During the coronavirus pandemic Snapchat's Discover platform has been publishing regular news and updates and it is now keen to add more entertainment content as well.
"Our first reaction was to shore up the news coverage and really deliver on that," Mills said. "But after a week-and-a-half or so, we started to see a huge surge in interest in entertainment content, especially humor and comedy.
"The kinds of things that the community wants are things that are positive, that feel empowering. It's not just about escapism but it's about actually what is the good that can come of a challenging moment in time. Will From Home fits perfectly with that."
Will From Home launched on Snapchat on Friday (April 3) and new episodes will stream on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) on Apr 3, 2020 at 8:28am PDT
Smith recently starred in much-anticipated Bad Boys sequel Bad Boys for Life and although it might sound impossible now, it turns out that he and Martin Lawrence weren't the studio's first choice for the franchise's leads.
"Yeah, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz were the original Bad Boys," Smith said. "That would have been a little bit of a different movie!"
The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it's possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. For any concerns and latest advice, visit the World Health Organisation. If you're in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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