Photo Courtesy of Tammy Richards
Ramapo alumna, comedian and YouTube sensation Grace Helbig is getting a talk show on E! Network. Premiering in April, “The Grace Helbig Project” will be a talk show hybrid featuring Helbig hosting a string of comedy sketches and exclusive celebrity interviews.
"Congratulations to E! for giving an Internet-obsessed introvert a talk show,” Helbig said in her press release, “I'm looking forward to working with humans."
Unique to Helbig’s project, the show will feature random celebrity interviews in various places, such as Helbig’s car or on the streets, expanding the horizons of the show beyond the typical talk show set. Helbig also plans to engage her fans in the show by reaching out to them via various social media networks, including Vine, Twitter and Instagram, in order to help shape the show. Helbig will be relying strongly on an improvisational mode of comedy to drive the show.
A member of the class of 2007, Helbig graduated from the communications program. Following her graduation, Helbig became one of the most subscribed personalities on YouTube with her channel, “It’s Grace.” Her channel has garnered over 2 million subscribers. Her best-selling book, “Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-up,” reached No. 1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Helbig is also the founder of the award-winning YouTube channel “DailyGrace.”
With Ramapo College being a relatevely small college, many students found this achievement significant, especially when considering their choice of major and school.
Upon hearing about a former Ramapo student achieving such a huge feat, senior and fellow communications student Danielle Corcione said, “It's inspiring someone out of the communications program was so successful.”
Sophomore communications major Atasia Keeling feels Helbig’s success is an inspiration to those who are soon to be entering the job-market.
“By Grace Helbig receiving such a huge opportunity it gives me a lot of hope for my future,” said Keeling. “Not to sound cliché but it makes me feel like anything is possible, especially considering the fact that we're from the same major.”
Many recent changes to the E! Network roster has left the channel in a state of stagnancy. With the sudden death of comedic mastermind Joan Rivers, host of “Fashion Police,” and a red carpet mainstay, and the departure of Chelsea Handler of “Chelsea Lately,” E! has lost many of its fundamental talents.
E!’s Executive VP of Original Programming and Development, Jeff Olde, said in a press release, “As we continue to seek out programming that offers a rich multiplatform experience, we are excited to launch this forward-thinking talk show that speaks so perfectly to our audience and to the core of E!’s pop culture brand.”
ksuchman@ramapo.edu
