Snapchat, the ephemeral social messaging app that launches a thousand ill-advised naked selfies into the ether on a daily basis, debuted its new web series Literally Can’t Even on Saturday, in a move signalling the app’s potential to rival other streaming sites.
Written by and starring Sasha Spielberg and Emily Goldwyn, daughters of director Steven Speilberg and producer John Goldwyn respectively. The duo, who are writing partners, play versions of themselves on a series of adventures and mishaps through Los Angeles, with Spielberg just out of a long-term relationship and Goldwyn beginning a six-month long detox.
The show premiered on Snapchat’s new Snap Channel on Discover, a feature which brings big-name corporate media partners like Cosmopolitan, Vice, National Geographic and Comedy Central onto the screens of millions of users with a selection of video content updated every day.
By moving from a medium for video and images into a producer of its own, Snapchat is following the likes of Netflix and Amazon, although its short-form content is more likely to rival YouTube for now. In fact, YouTube started to fund a clip show called YouTube Nation in 2014, and has pledged to start offering funding to its top-rated channels.
Literally Can’t Even will showcase a new episode every Saturday, and staying on brand with Snapchat’s disappearing-messages style, each one will disappear from the app after 24 hours. “It provides a clean slate each week,” Sasha Spielberg told The Hollywood Reporter.
The episodes will all run to less than five minutes, and use split screen camera work to fill as much content into a smartphone screen as possible.
The duo explained that the episodes are written, shot and edited to feel like the Snapchat viewer is eavesdropping on the lives of the two characters for a couple of minutes every week. “These are snapshots of our life, which is perfect for Snapchat,” Emily Goldwyn said. “It feels perfect for the generation that we’re writing for.”
Watch the first episode below:
Regrettably for Spielberg and Goldwyn, the generation for whom they are writing the show was less impressed with the output, with the show garnering almost universally bad buzz on Twitter. They're fickle, those Snapchatters...
No, SnapChat. 'Literally Can't Even' is too damn far. Too. Damn. Far.
— Gavin O' Driscoll (@GavinODriscoll) January 31, 2015
The original content in Snapchat Discover can be so much better. Literally Can't Even = charmless, unfunny attempt at Broad City
— Ben Cunningham (@codeblue87) January 31, 2015
I watched a generous 90 seconds of the new Snapchat original web series "Literally Can't Even," but I literally couldn't even. It was awful.
— Maya Kosoff (@mekosoff) January 31, 2015
Sorry @Snapchat, but 'Literally Can't Even' was the worst 4min of this day. And that's really bad.
— João Gonçalves (@jpmgoncalves) January 31, 2015
I watched Snapchat's "Literally Can't Even" and I get it's supposed to be a parody and all, but it's on par with Mean Girls 2.
— Mila Georgieva (@mila_georgieva) January 31, 2015
Snapchat’s new “web” series “Literally Can’t Even” may be the 1st questionable product decision they’ve made—the quality is just *that* poor
— Adam Besvinick (@Besvinick) January 31, 2015
Literally can't even believe I watched @Snapchat's new Literally Can't Even. Rich white girls! Party! Booze! Dubstep! Wooooooo!
— Matthew Bryan Beck (@iBeck) January 31, 2015
Snapchat's "Literally Can't Even" is so fucking bad that I've written off the service altogether.
— Jake  (@skateforjake) January 31, 2015
SnapperHero, a second original web series featuring popular Vine and YouTube stars, is expected to debut on the app's platform in the coming weeks.
