Roku Unveils New Original Programming from Jessica Alba, Charlie Puth, Sofia Vergara, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Saldaña, Juanpa Zurita, and More at 2023 IAB NewFronts

New projects to bolster Roku’s 2023-2024 content slate

Roku renews “Honest Renovations,” “Meet Me” franchise, and “The Great American Baking Show”

Today, Roku, the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico[1], hosted its second in-person IAB NewFront at the Chelsea Factory in New York City.

During the presentation, Roku highlighted several new Roku Original titles that will debut in the 2023-2024 broadcast year. Newly announced series include “Charlie Makes a Record” (wt) starring Charlie Puth; “Celebrity Family Cook Off” (wt) hosted by Manolo Gonzalez Vergara and executive produced by Sofia Vergara; “Carpe DM with Juanpa” starring and executive produced by Juanpa Zurita; “Side Hustlers” featuring Emma Grede and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in association with Ally; and the first-of-its-kind food competition show “Special Delivery,” which gives audiences the opportunity to immediately enjoy the winning dishes from the show.

Additionally, Roku revealed that it has renewed several series for new seasons. Roku Original “Honest Renovations,” hosted and executive produced by Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis, will return for a second season. Roku will also partner with Hello Sunshine and Cinestar Pictures once again to build onto its “Meet Me” franchise. The second installment of the reality rom-com, “Meet Me in Rome,” will follow a new group of single women looking for love like in the movies. “The Great American Baking Show” will also return for a second season, and Roku will bring audiences its second “The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday” special, featuring a new lineup of celebrity bakers, this holiday season.

Roku Original talent and creative partners, including Charlie Puth, Cisley Saldaña, Emma Grede, Jessica Alba, Juanpa Zurita, Liz Jenkins, Lizzy Mathis, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, Mariel Saldaña, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Rich Eisen, Sofia Vergara, and “Weird Al” Yankovic, all celebrated Roku Originals live on the NewFront stage in New York City.

These new titles join The Roku Channel’s robust line of upcoming Roku Originals, including “WWE: Recruits,” “Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew,” “Morimoto’s Sushi Master,” “Match Me in Miami,” “Reptile Royalty,” “Lincoln Log Masters,” “The Marriage Pact,” “The Newsreader,” “Die Hart,” “Chad,” and more.

[1] By hours streamed, Dec 2022, Hypothesis Group
 

David Eilenberg, Head of Content, Roku Media: “Bringing together the power of the Roku platform and the strong storytelling of our top-tier global creative partners has made Roku Originals unmissable TV for millions of streamers. We’re thrilled to delight our audience with new premium original series and proud to continue the Roku Originals stories that audience already love, by bringing several series back for more.”
 

SERIES INFORMATION

“Carpe DM with Juanpa”
Can I fly a jet, ride a bull, jump a Monster Truck? A lot of us have these strange curiosities buried in the back of our minds or saved in our inboxes for later. Yet we do nothing.

Mexican adventurer, social media star, and actor Juanpa Zurita is out to change that. In each episode of the bilingual series “Carpe DM with Juanpa,” he will face challenges that push his body and mind to the limit all across the United States. Along the way, Juanpa will show all of us the transformative power of stepping outside your comfort zone and bringing your inner adventurer to life.

The six-episode series is produced by INE Entertainment and ARCO. Eric Day, Mark Koops, and Sarah Davies executive produce for INE. Juanpa Zurita and Brenda Tubilla executive produce for ARCO. Dave Lingwood is also set to executive produce.
 

“Celebrity Family Cook Off” (wt)
In each episode of “Celebrity Family Cook Off” (wt), a food-loving celebrity and a family member face off against another celebrity family duo in a two-round battle, dinner followed by dessert. Each round of the competition will feature a culinary challenge inspired by a hit movie or television series. The winning celeb-family duo will receive a cash prize to donate to a charity of their choice. The participating celebrity families will be revealed at a later date. The series is hosted by Manolo Gonzalez Vergara.

The six-episode “Celebrity Family Cook Off” (wt) is produced for Roku by Butternut, a Wheelhouse company, and Latin World Entertainment. Courtney White, Brent Montgomery, and Teri Weideman serve as executive producers for Butternut, with Sofia Vergara, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, Kate Presutti, and Luis Balaguer executive producing for Latin World Entertainment.
 

“Charlie Makes a Record” (wt)
“Charlie Makes a Record” (wt) is an unscripted comedy series that takes stories from Charlie’s real life and elevates them into borderline-surreal scenarios to show audiences a whole different side of Charlie and his talents. He’ll write new music, take his career to new heights, and attempt to balance super-stardom with a regular life… all while trying to silence the oppressive sense of crippling solitude racing through his head. This is the reality that exists in Charlie Puth’s brain—and you’ve never seen or heard anything like it.

The six-episode series is produced by Scout Productions. David Collins, Rob Eric, Renata Lombardo, and Michael Wiliams serve as executive producers for Scout Productions. Charlie Puth, Ty Stiklorius, and Mikaela Puth also serve as executive producers.
 

“Honest Renovations” Season Two
The second season of “Honest Renovations” will once again feature Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis helping deserving families overcome parenting challenges through the renovation and transformation of home spaces. Jessica and Lizzy will identify what isn’t working and make changes, so that home life is more functional and enjoyable—all while having honest conversations about what it means to be a parent.

The series is produced by Summit House and 3 Arts Entertainment. Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis executive produce. Oly Obst and Dunia McNeily executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment.
 

“Meet Me in Rome”
Following the successful debut of the Roku Original unscripted feature film “Meet Me in Paris,” Roku has ordered a second installment of its reality rom-com franchise: “Meet Me in Rome.” In addition to a new setting, the sequel will follow a new group of young women looking for a “love like in the movies.”

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Zoë Saldaña’s Cinestar Pictures will return to co-produce the “Meet Me in Rome” unscripted feature film, with Witherspoon, Saldaña, Sara Rea, Sue Kinkead, Cisely Saldaña, Mariel Saldaña, and Angela Rae Berg serving as executive producers. “Meet Me in Rome” will be a 90-minute feature.
 

“Side Hustlers”
“Side Hustlers” is a docu-follow series where two savvy investors each mentor three aspiring entrepreneurs in a first-of-its-kind format. The investors guide the side hustlers through a high-stakes boot camp aimed at transforming their side hustles into sustainable main hustles that could potentially make millions. In the end, the investors and the side hustlers have a big decision to make: The investor decides if they want to put a large amount of cash into the business. And the side hustlers decide if they are going to walk into their boss’s office and finally quit their day job.

The five-episode series is produced by Hello Sunshine in association with Ally. Reese Witherspoon and Sara Rea executive produce for Hello Sunshine. Emma Grede, Co-Founder and CEO of Good American and Founding Partner of Skims, executive produces and will also appear in the series as an investor.
 

“Special Delivery”
“Special Delivery” is the first-ever food competition show that tests chefs on how well they can craft dishes for at-home delivery. Chefs will not only be judged on how well their meals turn out, but on overall branding, packaging, and pricing of the meal specifically designed for home delivery.
Each episode will feature a themed challenge, the results of which will be determined by both a panel of experts and an on-screen group of everyday Americans. Viewers can then get a literal taste of the action by immediately enjoying winning dishes from the show.

The six-episode series is produced by ITV America’s High Noon Entertainment and Ready Set Go. Scott Feeley and Adam Sher are the executive producers for High Noon. Donray Von and Meredith Sandland serve as executive producers for Ready Set Go.
 

“The Great American Baking Show” Season Two and All-New “The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday” Special
Legendary judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will return for a brand-new season of “The Great American Baking Show. The U.S. adaptation is based off the “The Great British Bake Off” format. Nine of the best amateur bakers in America enter the iconic baking show tent to tackle the most unique signature challenges to date. These bakers pull out all the stops to impress the judges and make their mouth-watering mark.

The first season of “The Great American Baking Show” debuts this Friday, May 5, on The Roku Channel.

Roku will also bring back the holiday special of “The Great American Baking Show,” which will feature all-new celebrity bakers and debut this upcoming holiday season.

“The Great American Baking Show” is produced by Love Productions, with Richard McKerrow and Jeremy Finn serving as executive producers.
 

BACKGROUND
The Roku Channel is the exclusive home of Roku Originals. From award-winning scripted entertainment and engaging documentaries to new breakout unscripted series, Roku Originals gives viewers free access to bold, fresh entertainment from the biggest names in Hollywood.

Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel is the home of free and premium entertainment on the Roku platform. In Q4 2022, The Roku Channel reached U.S. households with an estimated 100 million people. The Roku Channel was a top 5 channel on the Roku platform by active account reach and streaming hour engagement in Q1 2023. Today, The Roku Channel features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 free movies and programs and more than 350 free live linear television channels in the U.S. It licenses and distributes content from more than 250 partners.

Roku is a registered trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Trade names, trademarks, and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.