TOGETHER WITH

It’s Friday and yet another YouTuber has scooped up a Guinness World Record. Luke Bell’s claim to fame: pulling off the longest drone flight at 261 minutes.

Today’s News

🃏 A doc delves into card collecting
🎬 Character.AI joins the microdrama race
🇺🇸 TikTok tours the U.S.
🤝 Netflix makes a deal with The Stokes Twins
🏎️ Ryan Blaney hits the gas

IN THE CARDS

Creators have transformed the card collecting community.

This documentary delves into the history of card collecting—and its creator-led future

The documentary: A new feature-length film combines a Pokémon history lesson with a deep-dive into the psychology of card collecting. CardBound, which premieres today across Plex, Amazon, and YouTube, explores the world of collectible card games with help from Olympic athlete Noah Lyles and creators Logan Paul, Duke Dennis, and Deep Pocket Monster.

The documentary was created and executive-produced by John Nelson, who reps members of the creator group AMP as the SVP of Digital at Night. The exec developed CardBound through ALP, a full-service production company that exists under the AMP umbrella and has worked with external clients like Sting, T-Pain, and Buffalo Wild Wings.

As a lifelong collector himself, Nelson told Tubefilter that his curiosity was piqued when his friend PhillyBeatzu embarked on a quest to find the very first Pokémon card.

“Once I realized there was still uncertainty about the origins of one of the world’s biggest franchises, I became fascinated and started researching and collecting the earliest Pokémon cards.”

- John Nelson

The creator angle: Nelson ultimately joined Rui Couto (aka ThatMangaGuy) on a two-year mission to learn the true story of Pokémon’s origins. The research and interviews conducted during that time form the basis of CardBound—but the documentary itself doesn’t remain stuck in Pokémon’s past.

The film also focuses on the present-day hobbyists who have transformed card collecting from a niche, nerdy pursuit into a powerful mainstream force. Paul, for example, wore a Pokémon card as bling during his Wrestlemania debut, while Lyles has been known to race with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards tucked into his jersey.

Those creators have revived the popularity of trading cards while also turning their markets into precarious, speculative bubbles. At the end of the day, however, CardBound is most concerned with the passion that causes card collectors to pursue rare finds.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

Katie Swett Miller, Kit Chief Product Officer, speaking at Craft + Commerce 2026

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

Character.AI is getting in on the microdrama game.

Character.AI has announced the launch of c.ai Series, “a new Microdramas offering” comprised of AI-driven short-form videos that viewers can interact with on mobile. (The Verge)
As Netflix reckons with signs of falling engagement, the platform is reportedly considering the introduction of always-on channels and streaming bundles. (The Verge)
Anthropic’s Claude is putting its own spin on features like Spotify Wrapped with the debut of a Reflect tab that allows users to view data related to their interactions with the chatbot. (Engadget)
A new section in Google’s My Ad Center will allow users to see if ads on Google Search and YouTube were created with AI. (TechCrunch)

AMERICAN DREAM

TikTok is ready for a good old fashioned American road trip.

TikTok’s U.S. tour will serve as a reminder of its small business impact

The tour: It’s been a full year since we first learned the details of the U.S.-locked version of TikTok—and TikTok USDS Joint Venture is ready to take the show on the road. The app has now been operating long enough to possess a slew of new features, and its representatives are highlighting those products through a nationwide tour.

That initiative, called Discover America, will bring attention to local small businesses while also reminding TikTok creators about the tools they can use to connect with their communities. The six-city swing began in New York on July 7 and will hit Atlanta, Des Moines, Denver, and Las Vegas before concluding in Phoenix on July 19.

Each stop on the tour is a city where thousands of small business owners are active on TikTok. In Atlanta alone, TikTok claims there are 300,000 small businesses with ties to the app.

The context: As TikTok supports the entrepreneurs who capitalize on the potential of the For You Page, the app is also insulating itself against criticism. The last time TikTok faced regulatory pressure from U.S. officials, it defended itself by pointing to its small business impact. Should a similar situation arise in the future, you can bet that TikTok will bring up those talking points.

In the meantime, Discover America doubles as a promotional tool for new products like TikTok’s Local Feed—which shows restaurants, shops, and events close to a user’s precise location—and TikTok GO, the app’s two-month-old travel booking service.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Netflix is stocking up on creator content.

Netflix is adding The Stokes Twins’ YouTube library to its trove of creator content

The deal: Alan and Alex Stokes—aka the identical duo known as The Stokes Twins—have signed a non-exclusive deal that will bring an archive of their YouTube videos to Netflix.

A trailer uploaded to Netflix’s official YouTube channel describes Alan and Alex as “the internet’s most creative agents of chaos.” Now, the 141 million subscribers who consume the duo’s chaotic content on YouTube will also be able to find their signature pranks, challenges, and stunts on Netflix.

Beyond their repositioned YouTube content, The Stokes Twins will work with Netflix on an original series set to premiere in 2027.

“When we were kids, we didn’t always know how to fit in…A camera became the way we connected with people before we fully had the words. We made videos to make other kids laugh, and somehow that turned into a community of hundreds of millions of people around the world. To now bring that journey to Netflix is bigger than a show for us. It feels like a full-circle moment.”

- The Stokes Twins

The context: Since launching their joint channel in 2017, The Stokes Twins have become one of the biggest draws on YouTube and regularly rank among the platform’s most-watched creators. They’ve also proven to be dependable brand partners, with enough reach that even some international Stokes Twins fan channels draw more engagement than most other hubs on the platform.

To turn their channel into a sustainable business, The Stokes Twins hired Mario Joos as their company’s CEO last year. Now, the siblings’ deal with Netflix brings them in line with other major creators who have improved their bottom lines by entering the streaming world. Mark Rober, for example, saw his CrunchLabs sales go up after his content premiered on Netflix, and Alan Chikin Chow and Alix Earle have also cut deals with the streamer.

WATCH THIS 👀

What’s a creator interview without a little adrenaline?

A NASCAR champ is taking creators to the racetrack

The series: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney is putting creators behind the wheel for a new YouTube series sponsored by BodyArmor Sports Drink.

Produced by NASCAR Studios and Words + Pictures’ Full Speed Entertainment, On The Gas with Ryan Blaney looks to combine “the adrenaline” of racing “with the spontaneity of unscripted interviews” (per NASCAR).

The first season kicked off earlier this month, with the first two episodes featuring guest appearances by YouTube star The Stradman and actor/producer Keegan-Michael Key.