Take the subway Host Karim Rahma replaces public transportation with studio filming for his latest YouTube talk show. hunting? It is a branded program hosted by Rahma for Toyota: Pit stop tonight.
Rahma, of course, is no stranger to giving heated interviews: Take the subway It attracted the likes of Cate Blanchett, Woody Harrelson and Halsey. His latest original series Keep the timer running He saw him hop in a taxi, ask the taxi driver to take him to his favorite place, and yes, keep the meter running in the process.
Pit stop tonight It shares some connective tissue with those shows, but it’s also its own thing (it’s the only talk show with a crew, Rahma points out, who build each episode’s set in mere seconds). Each episode includes Rahma interviewing and playing games with Toyota drivers like Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Jed Avedisyan, and Chase Briscoe.
“When they asked me to do this, I respectfully said, ‘I don’t know anything about NASCAR,’ and their response was, ‘This is really great, because we are looking for someone who can be a conduit for people who are not necessarily interested in NASCAR racing,’” Rahma says in an interview with the “NASCAR” website. Hollywood Reporter.
“It seemed like a fun and interesting idea, which I would actually be good at,” Rahma adds. “I never have the opportunity to sit behind a desk and do my work. I’m always in the back seat of the car or on a seat on the subway.” “So, doing it in the studio, I said, ‘You know, it would be nice to feel what it feels like to be a late-night host.’”
The show also embodies the new normal for branded content and the creator economy. Last month, Rahma was on stage at Lincoln Center with Trevor Noah, cheering on media buyers Keep the timer runningNow he’s launching another offering that has been a collaboration from the beginning with Toyota and its partners Portal A, Saatchi & Saatchi and YouTube Creative Works. In addition to the full episodes on YouTube, Toyota will release clips and other content on its social platforms everywhere.
“From the beginning, the Toyota team and the agency team at Portal A were really fun. We did it on calls, we did it on Zoom, we collaborated on clips and games, and there were no arguments or disagreements,” Rahma says, adding that he and his team put in the work necessary to create a fun environment in a more controlled environment than where he usually films his episodes. “In a studio environment, you have to manufacture vulnerability and that openness. So, it was really challenging and fun to try to develop these games with the agency and the brand that would make drivers open up.”
The end result is a show that, Rahma says, is truly worth watching, in a world with no shortage of options.
“I wouldn’t call it good, I’d call it great. I really think it’s a great show, and I had friends text me and say, ‘Oh my God, this is some of your best work, and I don’t even like NASCAR,'” he says.
Pit stop tonight It will be released with four episodes, but Rahma says he is open to producing more if Toyota is happy with the result.
“If the idea is great, it will find an audience, and I think that’s the show we put together Pit stop tonight“, he says.
Watch the first episode of Pit stop tonight less:
