Good morning.  Kai Cenat has returned from a two-month streaming hiatus with a few New Year’s resolutions. In addition to working out and learning how to sew, Cenat is reading aloud every day to improve his vocabulary and articulation. 

We're very much here for this self-improvement journey.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Blindfolds on. Dating live show and YouTube comedy brand UpDating just signed a deal with Love Island producer ITV America to produce a show for TV and streaming.

Where it started: 

Where it’s going: Forman and Berman will be executive producers and talent on the TV project, casting and directing the series alongside ITV executive producer Adam Reed. The show will involve a house of contestants and like UpDating, include live audience elements. 

“There’s never been a Love Island-style show that’s been comedy-driven and that’s what really excited us,” Berman told us. “They see eye-to-eye with us, and we’re going to use our tone and the same vibe on a show that has a format beyond the stage.”

As for the business upside? “On the business side, a TV show is still the best form of marketing for our overall comedy brand and our other revenue streams like our live show,” Forman said. 

It also opens UpDating to network syndication.

“We’ve done over 100 episodes and know the episodes that have broad appeal. So if we can get it syndicated onto platforms that can give it a shot—I think we haven’t even seen where UpDating can go yet,” Berman said.

They have yet to set a production date for the TV show. In the meantime, Berman and Forman will 1) continue on their current North America tour 2) focus on their new in-house creative agency, Brand Studio and 3) continue making content across social. 

While 19 children’s online safety bills wait for a hearing in the House, YouTube, TikTok, and X made changes to encourage healthy screentime habits and protect minors this week. Here’s the latest →

X updated Grok, its in-platform AI model, to prevent it from generating explicit imagery. This update comes after users asked the chatbot to create images of women and alleged minors in revealing clothing. Although the restrictions have been implemented on X, Wired reports no change on Grok’s standalone app.

TikTok partnered with stationery creator Linda Tong Planners to create a physical planner that encourages healthy screen/life balance for minors. The free planner uses a week-long layout for parents and children to assign tasks, then plan rewards (like scroll time).

YouTube rolled out machine learning in the US to determine a user’s age based on watch habits—regardless of the age associated with their account. If an account is flagged as a teen account, YouTube will disable personalized advertising, turn on “digital wellbeing tools,” and add guardrails to recommendations. Users wrongfully flagged as teens can verify their accounts by providing ID to YouTube.  

Worth noting: Many creators have been skeptical about algorithm-based age verification and whether social media bans are effective forms of protecting children online. What do you think? Hit reply and tell us more.

Sponsored by Rare Days and beehiiv

Leaving ABC News and Good Morning America wasn’t a small bet for Dr. Jen Ashton. Those platforms gave her credibility, name recognition, and millions of viewers.

But what they didn’t give her was ownership.

So she started her own media company, kickstarting a newsletter on beehiiv. Their all-in-one platform helped Ashton connect with her audience on a deeper level, while making it easy to monetize her content at scale.

From there, Ashton rebuilt a direct line to an audience that already trusted her. And with help from Rare Days, she even launched a wellness program that made over $750K in its first 90 days.

Want to learn the playbook behind her move from network TV to audience-owned business?

Click here to read the full story.

This week, Complexly, the parent company of education YouTube Channel Crash Course, welcomed back its founder Hank Green to host a new series on scientific thinking.

Pop quiz: Vlogbrothers John and Hank Green started Crash Course in 2011 with the goal of making online learning fun. Since then, the channel has produced over 50 courses, gained 16.8 million subscribers and 2.2 billion views, and expanded into Spanish videos and kids’ courses. 

With the new series, Crash Course is tackling media literacy. “We give people the tools to interpret statistical claims, put individual scientific studies into broader context, and evaluate sources,” Crash Course Executive Producer Meghan Modafferi told us. 

Final exam: In recent months Hank’s personal content has explored implicit biases and asked viewers to evaluate outcomes based on truth and science. 

“No one is more practiced at communicating across that divide than Hank,” Modafferi said. 

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.