There’s a new YouTube Original series, Champaign ILL, that is coming out December 12th on YouTube Premium. The show stars Adam Pally, who came to fame in Happy Endings as Max Blum, Sam Richardson from the show from Veep and Detroiters, and guest stars Jay Pharoah, and it will be a 10 episode series, as least to start. Watch the trailer below, and the description of the show below that.
After the death of their best friend, a wildly famous rap icon, Alf and Ronnie lose their lavish lifestyle and are forced to return home to Champaign, Illinois. In order to get back what they’ve lost, they must figure out how to leave their destructive behavior behind and get back on top! Check out the new YouTube Originals series Champaign ILL coming December 12th.
And of course, because the show is called Champaign ILL (which you need to understand, isn’t pronounced ILLINOIS, but rather ILL, like sick, or in hip hop lingo, really very good) the local community already has an opinion, and it’s not all positive.
Local rapper Chase Baby tweeted at Adam Pally, criticizing him for not filming here, or even giving any sort of nod to anything that would refer to where the show takes place. It’s not the worst argument in the world, of course, but, that baited Pally enough to start a classic Twitter feud.
Enjoy:
Personally, I think the trailer was funny, and that the show has potential. I would like to actually watch it before I make any strong judgments. And Pally is right: filming here is not really an option for a production team like this, from a financial standpoint as he mentions, but also based on infrastructure. But that will change over time, with companies like Shatterglass Films staying on top of the game, and hopefully, a new government leadership that is focused on attracting new types of business. Right now, the state of Georgia, and the city of Atlanta has become the outdoor Hollywood soundstage of the East, and to get a Midwestern vibe, that can be done anywhere. Plus, it’s warm, most of the year. That counts for a lot.
Anyhow, it remains to be seen if the show took the time to give the show the flavor it would need, since this simply isn’t “Anywhereville, U.S.A”. At the least, there should be Orange and Blue, and perhaps a nod to Roger Ebert, and the Web Browser, or a shot of Alma Mater.