TROUBLE CITY

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Wait, Does Quibi Have a Hit?

Never underestimate the power of Kevin Hart.

Quibi has had its share of ups and down. Well, mostly downs. Okay, it’s been all downs. But they’ve held out hope that something, someday, would be a hit for the bite-sized streaming service.

While Quibi doesn’t release their viewing numbers, it sounds like they might finally have some sort of success on their hands. Why? Because they have officially greenlit a second season of the Kevin Hart series, Die Hart. Hart is set to reprise his role as himself although there is no word if John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jean Reno or Josh Hartnett will return. We do know that the second season will supposedly be titled Die Harter because of course it will be.

The first season starred Hart playing a version of himself as he tried to become a leading man in action films. He employed the help of a lunatic director (Travolta) to learn the ropes but things quickly got too wild for the comedian.

The renewal of Die Hart is the first piece of good news for Quibi in some time, maybe ever. The streaming service has been experiencing a lot of hardships since it launched back in April. Its viewership numbers have been way below expectations, the reviews for the shows (excuse me, “Movies in Chapters”) have been bad and behind-the-scenes stories have revealed a company that is desperately needing funding and an audience.

Quibi really went all-in with Die Hart, spending lots on advertising during primetime TV. It’s no surprise that it garnered some sort of respectable audience although, as I said, we may never know just how many people tuned in. Is it enough to right the ship? Is it the savior of Quibi? Or is it just a brief respite from more bad headlines?