Over the past 20 years, Vice has been around to give audiences the kind of news that you just can’t get from your local affiliates, with all manner of counter-culture stories getting attention. Viewers can get ready for a lot more of it, as the History Channel spinoff network H2 will soon become Viceland. Yes, that terrible name isn’t in reference to a Universal Studios theme park addition, but a channel coming to your TVs next year.
Okay, so Viceland is actually a working title right now, and it might get changed before everything becomes official, but it’s still kind of a boring placeholder. Like Westworld as a name for an attraction about the Wild West, Viceland just doesn’t grab me. Thankfully, the network will feature a ton of programming that will be easy to get into for fans of the media empire.
The new network will house hundreds of hours of brand new programming, all of which was put together entirely by the Vice production teams, so don’t expect to see any holdovers from H2 making the rounds. Back when the network was first announced, Vice reps claimed that their TV focus would be changing the game when it comes to commercials, as their monetization methods will allow them to air far fewer commercials than normal networks.
Luckily, this new network will broaden the relationship between Vice and Her director Spike Jonze, who is the company’s creative director and has been overseeing the channel’s development. He’s been working on the shows that are being created, the productions themselves, and on Vice’s brand awareness. Hopefully he’ll get into the creation process for some shows, making them as unique as his films have been over the years.
Here’s a smattering of whom and what people can expect from Viceland when it launches.
Gaycation with Ellen Page and Ian Daniel.
Huang’s World with chef Eddie Huang.
Noisey with Zach Goldbaum.
VICE World of Sports with Sal Masekela.
Black Market with Michael K. Williams.
Weediquette with Krishna Andavolu.
There are also two shows called Flophouse and Party Legend that possibly connote some exciting fun. But seriously, Michael K. Williams hosting a show called Black Market? It doesn’t even matter what that’s about, because I’ll be watching.
Viceland – or Vicetopia, Viceplace, or Vicecentral – will be introduced to over 70 million homes in the early part of 2016. Until then, don’t forget to check out the HBO Emmy Award-winning series Vice, which will kick off Season 4 next year as well. Will that show ever make the jump from premium cable to non-premium cable once HBO’s contracts run out? We shall see.
