Druski and Mike Epps Team Up for Netflix Comedy "Collect & Praise"

Comedian Druski will star opposite Mike Epps in a new Netflix series called "Collect & Praise," which premieres on December 1. The show is semi-scripted, meaning the cast works from a loose outline rather than a full script. Variety reports that the series is built around Druski's viral character, a money-hungry megachurch pastor.

Epps will play the pastor's deacon. The show is the first project made under a multi-year deal Druski signed with Netflix. Under that deal, he will create original content for the streamer only, and the work is produced through his company, 4Lifers Entertainment.

Netflix is also licensing a selection of Druski's existing work. That includes the titles "Coulda Been Love," "Coulda Been Daddy" and "Coulda Been Records Auditions," along with a set of comedy skits. Licensing means Netflix pays to show material that someone else made, for a set period.

Druski, born Drew Desbordes, built his audience on YouTube. Variety says his YouTube series have collectively passed 1 billion views. He became the youngest host ever of the BET Awards, the annual awards show from the Black Entertainment Television network.

His screen work is spreading beyond his own channels. In June, Deadline reported that he had joined Emma Stone and Chris Pine in the cast of "The Catch," a baseball romantic comedy from Universal Pictures. In October, Deadline reported that he would host Saturday Night Live's 52nd season, alongside Inde Navarrette and John Mulaney.

For Netflix subscribers, the immediate change is simple: a new comedy series with a set premiere date, and a library of Druski's older material to watch in the meantime. For viewers who know him from YouTube, the move brings his best-known character to a longer format on television. The series is a first step under the new contract, so more titles from the deal may follow, though none have been announced.