Viewers may not be able to take quick bites of Quibi’s book-based series for very much longer.
The struggling mobile streaming service, which just launched in April, has announced that it will officially shut down, as reported by the Wall Street Journal—and the future availability of its shows, including multiple book and short-story adaptations, are now uncertain. Deadline notes that Quibi plans to stop operation within the next several months, but the final day that viewers will be able to watch its shows hasn’t yet been announced; as of now, the service is still accepting new subscribers.
The service is home to many original series; each features episodes that are 10 minutes in length or less—“quick bites,” as Quibi calls them—and they’re only viewable on a mobile app for a monthly fee. However, when Quibi ends, some of its shows may disappear along with it, if they don’t find new homes elsewhere. (Some series are owned by other companies, as WSJ points out; they, along with Quibi’s content, could be sold to other streamers.)
Quibi’s current series include Survive, based on Alex Morel’s 2012 YA novel about plane-crash survivors stranded on a mountain range, starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner:
The service is also home to Most Dangerous Game, an updated version of Richard Connell’s classic 1924 story about a wealthy man hunting another human for sport, starring Liam Hemsworth and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz:
In addition, The Rachel Hollis Show, featuring the bestselling self-help author, has been on Quibi since its launch. A few other high-profile book-based projects were also in development at Quibi, and their futures are currently in question. They include a show based on Robert Greene’s bestselling 1998 nonfiction book, The 48 Laws of Power, to be co-produced and co-directed by Grammy-winning musician Drake, and a series adaptation of the 2011 SF spy thriller Toys by James Patterson and Neil McMahon.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
