Nickelodeon’s got a recipe for a new digital series. And it’s not even a secret: Take two teen influencers, pour in a dash of baking, pop it into oven for four episodes, sprinkle lightly with some French and voila! You’ve got Annie vs. Hayley: LeBake Off!
The new show, premiering on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel, is a four-episode miniseries starring teen influencers/sisters Annie and Hayley LeBlanc. They will compete in a series of baking challenges to see who is the better chef, with production overseen by Viacom Digital Studios. Some of the episode’s challenges include making classic recipes, decorating donuts and making a birthday cake for SpongeBob SquarePants.
Nick has been increasingly working with teen influencers recently, inncluding in February, it announced plans for a linear TV series featuring one of the world’s most popular unboxers, Ryan ToyReviews. Back in 2016, it signed an exclusive licensing deal with YouTuber JoJo Siwa (9.2 million subscribers) to develop a line of consumer products, and the singer, actress and dancer recently announced a concert tour in partnership with the kidcaster. It also recently signed TikToker and YouTuber Baby Ariel (three million subscribers) to star in the new mystery film Bixler High Private Eye.
The kidscaster is building on its strategy of working with digital stars, following the hire of Paula Kaplan as its EVP of talent and talent development. Kaplan previously worked with Nick from 1993 to 2014 and helped develop several actors in the Nickelodeon portfolio into pop culture icons during her tenure, including Ariana Grande, Kenan Thompson, Emma Roberts and Nick Cannon.