BYUtv Renews Random Acts, Hidden-Camera Show Highlighting Kindness, for Second Season
BYUtv announced today that Random Acts, its unscripted half-hour hidden-camera show, is returning to the airwaves for a second season on Monday, April 3 at 7:30pm MT. In an era when tragedies, violent crimes and catastrophes make headlines, this original reality show emphasizes the philanthropic side of humanity.
Random Acts features real people who are the recipients of random acts of kindness, as the team covertly engages in good deeds like secretly transforming a backyard into a sanctuary for a family, creating an aerial experience of a lifetime for young man who suffers from a debilitating disease to fulfill his dream of flying before he loses his eyesight and providing an opportunity for an aspiring ballerina with Cerebral Palsy to perform with a Ballet company. In addition, the hosts seek out unknowing citizens and enable them to complete an act of kindness. Hosted by YouTube comedic sensation Will Rubio, actresses Emilie Starr and Lisa Valentine Clark and comedian Stephen Jones, a number of notable collaborations will emerge throughout the series, including popular YouTube/Instagram sensations Evan Era (EvanEraTV), Stuart Edgington (Stuart Edge), Photographer and Blogger Heather Goodman (ourgoodadventure.com), Provo-based female a cappella group, Noteworthy, Al Fox (More Than the Tattooed Mormon), California-based singer/songwriter Tiffany Alvord and Master Crafter Heidi Swapp (Make Pretty Stuff). The 10-episode show also received overwhelming support from local businesses such as Ballet West, RC Willey, the Real Salt Lake professional soccer club, as well as the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu, Hawaii, who donated products and services for the show.
“We are thrilled by the positive response we received from viewers about the first season of Random Acts and are excited to bring this uplifting show back for a second season,” says Clint Bishop, director of marketing for BYUtv. “In tumultuous times such as these, we are proud to continue to offer an entertaining show that illustrates and encourages the selflessness that defines humankind and also inspires generosity, awareness and kindness.”
Hosts Will Rubio, Emilie Starr, Stephen Jones and Lisa Valentine Clark will be joined by a team of do-gooders who create scenarios in which unsuspecting people’s characters are tested and their varied reactions are captured on camera. Back for his second season as host, Rubio is known for bringing good, positive entertainment to the masses through his comedic YouTube channel. He has appeared in national commercials for Ford, Volkswagen, Subway, and Jack in the Box, and had guest-starring roles on the comedy television series Community, as well as Amazon’s Emmy® award-winning series Transparent. Starr studied Musical Theatre at Weber State University and currently works at the Salt Lake Acting Company, as part of their Audience Development and Communications team. Her previous non-profit work with charities like Outreach Resource Center for Homeless Youth, The Red Fred Project, and Musical and Memory Coalition, make her the perfect conveyer of kindness for Random Acts. Jones has appeared in various television shows and commercials for Old Spice, Verizon, Adobe, Dyson, Nordic Trak and Gold’s Gym and Clark recently starred in the hit independent movie Once I was a Beehive and was the executive producer, writer, and lead actor in the award-winning web series Pretty Darn Funny.
BYUtv commissioned award-winning Salt Lake City-based production house Cosmic Pictures to produce the series. Founded by Director/DP Greg Kiefer, Cosmic Pictures has worked internationally in over 75 countries and across the whole breadth of the communications industry – from feature film and commercials production to television and corporate communication projects. Tom Morrill from Cosmic Pictures will return as producer for season two of Random Acts, along with Sam Wallace and Damien Bear.
The second season will consist of 10 episodes. In addition to Random Acts, BYUtv’s original programming slate includes the long-running sketch comedy series Studio C, which has an extraordinary following of over 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube; Relative Race, the first family-history based competitive reality show that follows four couples as they meet relatives linked by DNA for the first time in a race across the States, now in its second season; and the upcoming new SciFi series Extinct. BYUtv is available in every state of the country via cable, satellite and multiple digital media platforms including byutv.org, AppleTV, Xbox ONE, Xbox360, Roku, Amazon FireTV, iOS and Android.