Streaming numbers have been are way up as of late, so now is as good a time as any to release a streaming service. Not all streamers have benefited from this surge of quaran-streaming, however, as Quibi had a notably rough launch day with a disappointing number of downloads on day one. Now, it's facing accusations that one of its originals, Memory Hole, plagiarized a well-known internet brand, and the makers of the show are defending themselves.
With the help of Will Arnett, Patton Oswalt, Jason Bateman, and Game of Thrones' John Bradley, Quibi's original Memory Hole dives into footage of obscure trends and inventions for its audience to marvel and laugh at. It's a premise not exactly like, but not exactly dissimilar, to a found footage project internet collective Everything Is Terrible! has been doing on YouTube since 2014. The YouTube channel, also called Memory Hole, posts bizarre found footage videos that are typically unnerving or just strange.
It's a similarity that seems to be a little too close for Everything Is Terrible's liking, as the brand released a statement about Quibi's Memory Hole on Instagram. Beyond the comparison in content, Everything Is Terrible! believes there is one additional lift from its brand that allegedly shows what the Quibi original did was no coincidence:
Everything Is Terrible! thinks it has a case, especially when noting the similar aesthetic between the two. The brand's fans seem to think there's a legitimate gripe as well and have gone after Quibi for greenlighting a show that may just be a rip-off of someone else's work.
The backlash has caused drama pretty quickly and, not long after Everything Is Terrible! released a statement, the production company behind Quibi's Memory Hole did the same. In a short tweet, Shout! Factory dismissed the claims from Everything Is Terrible! and pointed out that the YouTube outfit was not the first one to come up with the name.
With about a week having passed since the initial claims, things are at a bit of a standstill. Quibi's Memory Hole remains up on the platform, while Everything Is Terrible! has continued to post icontent on its main page and is still uploading videos to its Memory Hole. Is there going to be a reality in which both these shows exist, or is this a Highlander situation?
That remains to be seen, though Everything Is Terrible! is doing its best to try and alert Quibi's stars and higher-ups to the issue. The brand tagged Will Arnett and the creator of Memory Hole Scott Vrooman in a tweet and was ultimately blocked by Vrooman for doing so.
As mentioned earlier, it's one of the many gripes consumers have had with Quibi since its launch. While not everyone is dissatisfied, the service's early adopter numbers have undershot initial analyst predictions. Of course, there's still plenty of time for Quibi to bounce back and plenty of star power on the platform to entice more users to the service regardless of any controversy.
Quibi is currently available to download on smartphones. Stick with CinemaBlend for more on the platform, and for the latest news happening in television and movies.
