Roku's Rebranded Quibi Shows Will Be Available For Free From May 20

Roku has announced when the first batch of shows first produced for short-lived platform Quibi will be released. As reported by Variety, the collection of 30 series will hit Roku on May 20.

The shows have been rebranded as Roku Originals. They will all be available for free and are a mix of scripted shows, documentaries, comedies, and reality series. Titles include the reboot of Reno 911, Chrissy's Court with Chrissy Teigen, the Liam Hemsworth-starring thriller Most Dangerous Game, a remake of The Fugitive with Kiefer Sutherland, and Kevin Hart's action comedy series Die Hart.

The shows will be available on Roku in the US, Canada, and the UK. They will also retain Quibi's short episode lengths, with ad breaks dividing each 10 minute episode. The company has stated that no ad break will be longer than 60 seconds.

Roku bought around 75 shows from Quibi earlier this year, including several that hadn't been released when Quibi shut down in late 2020.

Quibi launched in April 2020 and was initially hailed by co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg as a revolutionary new combatant in the streaming wars, with its emphasis on short-form content specifically geared for mobile devices. However, he was forced to shut down the business due to flagging viewer numbers and disappointing download numbers.