BURBANK (Realist English). Inside a white house on a quiet street in this Los Angeles suburb, YouTuber Michelle Khare studies a rough cut of her latest Challenge Accepted episode — a channel with more than 5 million subscribers. On screen, she dangles from a C-130 aircraft, recreating Tom Cruise’s iconic Mission: Impossible stunt. “This is where I’m thinking, ‘Oh yeah, there’s no parachute,’” she laughs, surrounded by her six-person production team.
Khare is part of a growing wave of creators transforming Burbank — long home to Warner Bros. and Disney — into a hub for YouTube’s self-made stars. “It’s a great concentration of talent,” she says. “We rent props and costumes from the studios just down the street.”
YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan calls the shift “Silicon Valley–style disruption.” At a recent event he declared: “Creators really are the new Hollywood.” It’s an audacious claim — but one that reflects real change in how audiences consume entertainment.
Top YouTube producers such as Dhar Mann, Rhett & Link, and Smosh now operate full-scale studios here. Mann’s Burbank campus spans 125,000 square feet, and he plans to expand further. For creators, proximity to Hollywood’s infrastructure — sound stages, skilled technicians, and talent pools — helps elevate their production quality to near-cinematic levels.
The timing is significant: YouTube has overtaken Netflix as America’s most-watched streaming platform, commanding 13.1% of total TV viewing in August, compared with Netflix’s 8.7%, according to Nielsen. The Google-owned platform generated an estimated $54bn in revenue last year and now reports that U.S. viewers watch most YouTube content on television rather than phones. “We’re focused on improving the living-room experience,” says Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer.
YouTube’s evolution is unsettling traditional media. Networks such as NBCUniversal and Fox have clashed with YouTube TV over carriage fees, accusing Google of using “big tech leverage.” At the same time, YouTube courts legitimacy within Hollywood — holding “For Your Consideration” events ahead of the Emmys and promoting creator-led productions for award recognition.
Khare herself has embraced that hybrid status. Her Mission: Impossible–style stunt episode premiered with Red Bull sponsorship and a Hollywood-style event complete with a red carpet and poster campaign. “I grew up wanting to work in Hollywood,” she says, “but on YouTube, if you want to make a show — you just upload it.”
Next up for the creator: running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, all on camera. “It’s my biggest challenge yet,” she says. “I can’t wait to cross that seventh finish line.”
