Netflix Picks Up YouTube Star Alan Chikin Chow and Hybe America’s Scripted K-Pop TV Series

Netflix has ordered a scripted series from YouTube Shorts star Alan Chikin Chow, the creator behind “Alan’s Universe.” Netflix, Chow and Hybe America (the U.S. division of Korean music and entertainment company Hybe) are behind the untitled show, which will be set in the world of K-pop, the streamer revealed Tuesday.

Per the logline, Chow’s series “will follow a misfit crew of aspiring pop idol rejects enrolled in an arts academy who come together to form a co-ed band.”

Chow first announced the project earlier this year (exclusively reported by Variety) as part of a new partnership with Hybe America. “Hybe America x AU,” as it was called at the time, was described as a “first-of-its-kind label.” At the center of it, Chow announced a casting call for “multifaceted artists” to join him in a new mixed-gender pop-music group — who would also will co-star with him in a scripted series about the band on his YouTube channel.

Now, instead of his YouTube channel, that show is heading to Netflix.

Netflix, of course, is coming off the huge success of “Kpop Demon Hunters,” which was not only a smash for the streamer but also became a music juggernaut. Like that film, which spawned hit songs like “Golden,” the Chow series will release original music along with the series. Hybe, meanwhile, brings its K-pop expertise as the company behind BTS, Katseye and other groups.

Chow will serve as exec producer of the series along with James Shin, Hybe America’s president of film and television, and Jingu Jang, the Hybe America AU president and former vice president of BigHit Music. There’s no word yet on whether Chow or someone else is writing the series, and if there are any directors attached.

“Our groundbreaking project brings together extraordinary creative talent across Netflix and Hybe America to launch a pioneering new franchise for the next generation,” Chow said in a statement. “Together with world-class teams who consistently shape culture on a global scale, our mission is to set a new standard for storytelling: designed to inspire creativity, spark joy, and impart timeless life lessons for audiences worldwide.”

Without sharing details on the series, Shin promised it would offer a “culture-defining model for how pop groups are created. With a proven visionary like Alan, who is at the forefront of the creator ecosystem, we’re setting out to produce a groundbreaking series that expands audiences, possibilities, and how fandom is built from day one.” 

There’s also no word yet on the status of the global talent search, which was looking to pair Chow with three males and three females. The plan was to then take the new members and put them in a bit of a K-pop boot camp, participating in a development program in Los Angeles combining “Chow’s content expertise” with Hybe’s K-pop training system. 

Chow is the creator of the high school anthology series “Alan’s Universe,” which has close to 100 million subscribers and more than a billion views per month. Last year he was recognized as one of the industry’s top creators by Forbes, Time and other outlets. In November 2024, he opened a 10,000-square-foot production studio space in Burbank, which currently houses all production for the series.

Chow is represented by CAA. Here’s a teaser to the new Netflix/Hybe America/”Alan’s Universe” partnership: