Viacom Digital Studios International Honors WorldPride

Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI) has partnered with Comedy Central International and MTV International for a new lineup of short-form content that focuses on the LGBTQ+ community in honor of WorldPride.

The new short-form series and specials will launch across both broadcasters’ digital and social platforms and will center around an array of LGBTQ+ topics, ranging from mental health to coming out to drag queens. For Comedy Central International is Dragony Aunts, a six-part series starring two drag queens who provide advice, solutions and reality checks for a range of problems. The series’ five-minute episodes are slated to launch on the Comedy Central UK Facebook and YouTube pages on July 5 and are being localized by VDSI into ten languages.

For MTV International is Sexpectations, a five-parter in which an array of young, diverse LGBTQ+ people discuss sex, coming out, mental health, gender and religion from a queer perspective, framed around their personal experiences. Sexpectations will go live across MTV International’s Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat, and is being localized into eight languages by VDSI.

Courtney Reacts sees Courtney Act watch back her viral MTV digital series Courtney Act On…, giving her responses to commentary left by viewers. The show will be published on MTV International’s Facebook and YouTube pages. LGBTQ+ Music Artists Owning Their Truth RN, meanwhile, will feature four LGBTQ+ artists—Hayley Kiyoko, Troye Sivan, Olly Alexander and Halsey—who will each create a social video championing “owning it.” The videos will be available in six languages and published on MTV International’s Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

World’s First Pride Flight will take viewers behind the scenes of Virgin’s inaugural Pride Flight. This will be translated into eight languages by VDSI and go live on MTV International’s Facebook and Instagram. WTF Is Pride Still Important? will be published on MTV International’s Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat and showcase an array of prominent celebrities and artists—including Adam Lambert, Munroe Bergdorf, Courtney Act, Gia Gunn and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall—talking openly about the importance of pride in today’s climate, why trans rights should be championed and why the new BAME Pride flag is needed.

“At Viacom, we are content entrepreneurs,” said Brendan Yam, senior VP of Viacom Digital Studios International. “From traditional TV to digital short-form content, we take pride in representing our diverse audiences around the world through the stories that we tell. Viacom remains committed to representation of all audiences, on all screens, and this new content is an extension of that.”