See how Maximum Effort Channel on Fubo is messing with ad breaks

Maximum Effort Channel launched Tuesday in the U.S. on Fubo with a mix of original and licensed content—as well as an unconventional approach to advertising breaks, in typically subversive Maximum Effort style.

The linear channel, which Maximum Effort co-founder Ryan Reynolds calls “a calming antidote to the dumpster fire of our world,” will be home to original and classic TV and movies, as well as surprising ad breaks—which they’re calling “content breaks.” 

The first original show on the channel is “Bedtime Stories with Ryan,” a 15-episode series directed by Vincent Peone that will air Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET, in which Reynolds reads new and classic bedtime stories. Described by Pamela Duckworth, head of Fubo Studios, as “a magical mix of joy and relaxation,” the program is supported by Autodesk, which signed on as “Imagination Sponsor.”

Autodesk will air ads during the show, as will Reynolds-owned wireless carrier Mint Mobile (which is being sold to T-Mobile) and the beverage brand Betty Buzz, founded by Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively. Comic advertising for all three brands airing during Tuesday’s launch episode will feature voiceovers spoken in a whisper—a gag designed to fit with the “Bedtime Stories” theme.

See all three spots here:

A minimum of four more originals will debut in the coming months, Maximum Effort said. The programming will also include licensed content such as “Absolutely Fabulous,” “ALF,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Extras” (UK), “Fifteen,” “Kids in the Hall,” “Mad TV, “The Office” (U.K.), “Sports Night” and “Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place.” (Reynolds starred in “Fifteen” and “Two Guys”)

Launching a whole free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel is a big step for Maximum Effort, the creative company whose marketing arm has become known for its irreverent advertising in recent years. 

“We’re really thinking about this FAST channel, both on the programming side and the ad breaks side, as an incubator,” George Dewey, co-founder of Maximum Effort and chief brand officer of its parent company, MNTN, said in an interview at the Cannes Lions festival. “We want to take some swings. We want to be known as kind of the Ryan Reynolds Cartoon Network. We want to try things that have not been tried before. That’s the most important thing for us because that's the only way we will learn.”

Jill Lyons, SVP of creative operations at Maximum Effort, added that there’s been “a lot of curiosity” from brands about the channel’s launch—though some media buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach until the first viewership metrics come in.

“There’s a lot of advocacy that we need from our brand partners to get the wild things that we want to do done,” Lyons said. “We need those brand warriors to push that through who believe in what we’re trying to do collectively.”