TBS is getting in the rap battle business. Today, the network announced they’ve greenlit a new series called Drop the Mic.
Based on the popular segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden, the show will pit celebrities against each other in a battle of rap and wit. This isn’t the first segment from the CBS late night show to be picked up as a show. Recently, Apple Music ordered Carpool Karaoke as a series.
Corden will executive produce the show alongside Ben Winston and former battle rapper Jensen Karp (aka Hot Karl). Drop the Mic is expected to premiere in 2017.
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TBS, a division of Turner, is injecting a little groove into its original series lineup. The network has greenlit Drop the Mic, a new mixture of comedy and music from executive producers James Corden and Ben Winston. Joining them as executive producer is Jensen Karp, former battle rapper Hot Karl. Drop the Mic is already a huge viral and digital success as an ongoing popular segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden. The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73 and is slated to join the TBS lineup in 2017.
Drop the Mic will pit four celebrities against each other in a rap battle royale packed with “I can’t believe they just said that” moments. Each week’s winner will be chosen by the studio audience. TBS has ordered 16 episodes of Drop the Mic, with a host to be announced later. The show is TBS’s first new unscripted series since the arrival of Michael Bloom, who joined TBS & TNT in June as senior vice president of unscripted & special event programming.
“James Corden and Ben Winston have struck a nerve with their celebrity-driven, music-infused, incredibly fun content,” said Bloom. “This series embodies the kind of unique and surprising programming we are looking for as we reinvent our approach to this genre within the new TBS brand.”
“Drop the Mic is such an exciting show, and we can’t wait to begin making it,” said Winston. “Every time we have done this segment on The Late Late Show, it has become a massive viral moment. Now with TBS as our perfect partner, we hope to create some really memorable television.”
TBS has been undergoing a major programming and brand evolution that began in January with the highly successful launch of Angie Tribeca. The network kept the hits coming with the launches of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in February, The Detour in April and Wrecked in June. As a result, TBS now claims four of cable’s Top 10 new comedies for the year-to-date, with Wrecked and The Detour topping the list. TBS is also home to ELEAGUE, Turner and WME | IMG’s new eSports venture.
Drop the Mic marks TBS’s fourth series greenlight in the past two weeks. On July 31, the network announced it has ordered 10 episodes of The Guest Book and begun production on the new animated series Tarantula. A few days earlier, TBS announced it has greenlit the new digital animated series Storyville from Mass Appeal
What do you think? Do you enjoy Drop the Mic as a segment? Will you watch the TBS series?
