Brian Robbins is one of the entertainment industry’s most prolific and innovative producers of television, film and digital media. He is the founder of the production company Varsity Pictures and is also the founder of the digital network AwesomenessTV, one of YouTube’s fastest-growing premium content channels.
Robbins has executive produced numerous popular and critical television hits aimed at teens and young audiences, including the long-running CW series Smallville and One Tree Hill, Disney Channel’s Sonny with a Chance and So Random, Nickelodeon’s Supah Ninjas, and Spike TV’s Blue Mountain State. Robbins was also the producing force behind the popular Nickelodeon series All That, WB’s What I Like About You and HBO’s Arli$$.
Robbins has directed and/or produced films such as Disney’s Wild Hogs, Paramount’s Coach Carter, DreamWorks’ Norbit, Paramount’s The Perfect Score, Sony’s Radio, Paramount’s Varsity Blues, and DreamWorks’ A Thousand Words.
Robbins is also a producing force on the web. His AwesomenessTV channel is part of Google’s major initiative to access top Hollywood creators to provide original premium web content. Awesomeness TV, which debuted in June 2012, represents YouTube’s primary effort to reach the critical teen and young adult audience.
In January 2013 at the Consumer Electronics Show, Robbins and Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons announced a partnership between AwesomenessTV and Simmons’ Rush Digital Media to create a new urban network, All Def Digital (ADD). The All Def Digital (ADD) channel, offering music, comedy and other content aimed at the urban millennial market, will formally launch on YouTube channel in Spring 2013.
Prior to Awesomeness TV, Robbins produced the feature film Fred: The Movie, based on teenager Lucas Cruikshank’s record-breaking series of Fred videos on YouTube, and also produced its sequels, Night of the Living Fred and Camp Fred. All three films debuted to record ratings on Nickelodeon. The web property has also spawned a new television series, Fred the Show, currently airing on Nickelodeon, which is executive produced by Robbins.
Varsity Pictures currently has an overall deal at Lionsgate Television to develop series at broadcast and cable networks. Robbins is also in a first-look deal with CBS Films. The first project to be produced under the pact, The To-Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza, Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, will be released in 2013.
Robbins has won a Directors Guild Award, a Peabody Award and has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
