Arguably YouTube’s most eligible bachelor since 2008, YouTube heart-throb and part-time Taylor Lautner impersonator, Kassem Gharaibeh (Kassem G), has begun a new venture on his YouTube channel after an extended period of inactivity.
Mr. Gharibeh discussed how the new show, the first episode of which is titled “Untitled Kassem LIVE Show #1,” would be formatted. It will begin with Peter Gilroy and Kassem’s brother Omar reading questions from Twitter, as the host replies from the entrance to his new Airstream RV.
When seeking a theme song for his new show, Kassem consulted Los Angeles-based musical comedy group, The Cooties, composed of Ethan Edenburg, Jacob Jeffries, and Eric Jackowitz. A pre-recorded video of the trio performing three songs for Kassem was played and led to the host asking live viewers which they liked the best via a Twitter poll.
Kassem entered his Airstream to interview a special guest; this week it was Instagram influencer Amy Pham with a special appearance by his dog Kai. The two discussed how Instagram users can make money, and whether Kassem can increase his Instagram prominence.
Pham and Gharaibeh connected to Gharibeh’s mom via Apple Facetime in another to-be-reccuring segment where he asks her to review a movie every week. Needless to say, she is not a fan of Interstellar’s less-than-stellar dramatic points and lackluster performance by Matthew McWhat’s-his-name. He urged viewers to suggest movies for his mom to review during future episodes.
Once the interview and review with the special guest concluded, the guests will draw or paint a portrait of Kassem. Other segments included introducing a puppet named Del the Vacation Dalmatian, an El Segundo commercial seemingly edited on Windows 98 Movie Maker, and a series of educational mini documentaries created by Dax Flame, with the 1st being on J.D. Salinger.
Kassem gained popularity with his “California On” man-on-the-street series, where he’d interview pedestrians in Venice Beach, California. Each video centered on a single interview topic with complimentary thumbnail clickbait, ranging from gathering interviewees’ opinions on pop culture, countries, politics, holidays, among others. California on Comic Con would later become a recurring segment at San Diego Comic Con, with the release of the 8th edition this past summer.
His most viewed “California On” video examines drug culture in California and proposed marijuana legalization in the Golden State. A baby-faced Kassem begins the video in front of a medical marijuana dispensary, which now happens to be the headquarters for Snapchat (Snap, Inc.). Those questioned responded positively to the idea of legalized recreational marijuana, before cutting the interview short, presumably to return to a Phish concert at a homeless encampment in Bakersfield.
The YouTube personality’s most viewed video of all time, at 15,725,082 views, is from his “Going Deep” series’ interview with adult film star Asa Akira. “Going Deep” involved one-on-one interviews with a different adult film star in each episode. Featuring conversational questions from the host and desperate pleas from the online audience, an austere Kassem would spend the length of the interview steering it towards more intimate scenarios.
The channel also provided sketch comedy videos, some of which were part of the “Awkward Moments with Kassem G” series. “AsKassem” segments appeared on his 2nd channel and featured Kassem answering viewer questions as a green screen behind him displayed intricate graphics–comparable only to Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel–highlighting the absurdity of the questions and the show itself. Street Music videos were made in collaboration with Nice Peter of Epic Rap Battle fame.
Kassem was one of the first original content creators on YouTube to accumulate a sizeable following and later turn his online presence into a successful company in collaboration with other YouTubers in the form of Maker Studios. The multichannel network would later be sold to The Walt Disney Company.
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