The show will be called Distractible, and it will feature Markiplier — real name Mark Fischbach — collaborating with fellow digital creators Wade Barnes and Bob Muyskens to host what’s being pitched as “a space to have thoughtful discussions about funny, out there, or otherwise interesting stories from everyday life.”
Distractible is scheduled to launch on May 17 and will be available on all platforms.
For reference: Markiplier is one of the bigger digital creators to come out of the YouTube ecosystem. His YouTube channel currently clocks around 29 million subscribers, and he’s said to have an overall reach of over 60 million followers across a broad range of digital platforms. Aside from his core YouTube operation, cultivated over the years through a mix of “Let’s Play” gaming videos and comedy sketches, Fischbach has also created and starred in a YouTube original series, A Heist with Markiplier. In 2018, Fischbach expanded into apparel, collaborating with fellow creator Jacksepticeye on a clothing brand called Cloak.
Business diversification is a key theme of the story here, and while Distractible contributes to a broader trend that sees the digital creator class increasingly building positions in the podcast world (more on that in a bit), this isn’t Fischbach’s first foray into audio. In 2019, he starred in the lead role for The Edge of Sleep, a fiction podcast from QCODE that’s currently being adapted for television. Fischbach is attached as executive producer and is set to reprise his role in the adaptation, a development that will mark his debut in scripted television.
Distractible will be produced by Wood Elf, a new audio company formed by a group of digital creators, including Fischbach, MatPat, and Rhett & Link (who make Ear Biscuits), among others. Wood Elf is considered a podcast label under QCODE, interestingly enough.
Markiplier is repped by WME, Daylight Media, and the law firm Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.