Crave is hitting “like and subscribe” on its next original comedy, which sheds light on the ups and downs of internet fame.

Late Bloomer is created by star and executive producer Jasmeet Singh Raina, known on YouTube as Jus Reign, and produced by Toronto’s Pier 21 Films in association with Bell Media. The eight-part series is now in production in Toronto and Hamilton, Ont., according to a news release.

Raina stars as a fictional version of himself, based on his personal experience shooting to online fame, who struggles to balance the demands of success with his commitment to his family and culture as a Punjabi Sikh millennial. The series was first announced as a Crave original last June as part of Bell Media’s upfront presentation.

Shebli Zarghami (Run the Burbs) is the showrunner and executive producer. Comedian Russell Peters and brother Clayton Peters are consulting producers alongside Peter Huang (Children Ruin Everything), who is also the sole director on the series.

Rounding out the executive producers are Baljinder Dhawan, and Pier 21’s Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, Karen Tsang and Vanessa Steinmetz. Robbie David is the series producer, while Lakna Edirisinghe (Pinecone & Pony) is a writer and co-executive producer.

Additional writers on the series are executive story editor Cathryn Naiker (Son of a Critch) and Jagjiwan Sohal (Deepa & Anoop).

The Late Bloomer cast includes Baljinder Singh Atwal (Des Pardes), Sandeep Bali, Ashley Ganger (Grand Army), Sugenja Sri (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Ahamed Weinberg (Insecure).

Cineflix Rights handles international distribution for Late Bloomer. The series is produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Rogers Cable Network Fund the Bell Fund, and federal and provincial tax credits.

Raina has garnered more than 181 million views on YouTube to date through his comedy videos, and was one of the first content creators under Much Digital Studios when it launched in 2015.

“I’m looking forward to this next step in my storytelling and filmmaking endeavours, showcasing South Asian perspectives that mainstream audiences have yet to see,” said Raina in a statement.

Image courtesy of Bell Media