{ "id": "ep3twxzmfv", "slug": "chicken-girls", "title": "Chicken Girls", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Chicken Girls: American teen web series by Brat TV, premiered September 5, 2017 on YouTube, created by Janey Feingold, starring Jules LeBlanc as Rhyme; ran 11 seasons to 2023 with a 2018 feature film and College Years spin-off.", "snippet": "Chicken Girls: American teen web series by Brat TV, premiered September 5, 2017 on YouTube, created by Janey Feingold, starring Jules LeBlanc as Rhyme; ran 11 seasons to 2023 with a 2018 feature film and College Years spin-off.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "markdown": "# Chicken Girls\n\n**Chicken Girls** is an American teen drama web series produced by Brat TV and originally released on YouTube, following Rhyme and her friends, a dance group known by their 'ship name \"the Chicken Girls,\" as they enter high school and their friendships are tested by boy drama, rival dancers, and new interests.[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) • [2](https://bratchannel.fandom.com/wiki/Chicken_Girls) It premiered on September 5, 2017 and ran for eleven seasons until October 31, 2023, becoming Brat TV's best-known show and the anchor of a franchise that includes a feature film, books, podcasts, and spin-off series.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show) • [4](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| First / last aired | September 5, 2017 to October 31, 2023[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show) |\n| Format | 11 seasons, about 148 episodes of roughly 10 to 12 minutes, released on YouTube[5](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/) |\n| Created by | Janey Feingold; produced by Brat TV[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) |\n| Main cast | Jules LeBlanc as Rhyme, Hayley LeBlanc as Harmony, Brooke Butler as Ellie, Indiana Massara as Rooney, Hayden Summerall as TK, Madison Lewis as Birdie Kaye[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show) |\n| Setting | The fictional town of Attaway, centered on the girls' dance team and its rivalry with Power Surge[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) |\n| Feature film | *Chicken Girls: The Movie*, a 70-minute film that cost $500,000 and reached 10 million views with a 30-minute average view time within two weeks of its 2018 premiere[6](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/) |\n| Rating | TV-G on most streaming listings; IMDb users rate the series 5.3/10[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/chicken-girls) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7356206/ratings/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and cast\n\nThe series opens with Rhyme and her friends, who have danced together for years, facing a season in which only three spots are open on the team and a new girl arrives in town.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/chicken-girls) As the girls enter high school, the show follows boy drama, mean girls, and new interests that threaten to pull the group apart.[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) Episodes carry titles such as \"Pep Rally,\" \"Save the Arcade,\" and \"Flour Babies,\" and recurring plotlines include the girls' campaign to save their local arcade and a dance-team rivalry with a group called Power Surge.[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/chicken-girls)\n\n**Cast.** [Jules LeBlanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/jules-leblanc) (also known as Annie LeBlanc) plays Rhyme, with Hayden Summerall as TK; Brat co-founder Rob Fishman said the two were cast in the lead roles because of their rising fame.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show) • [9](https://bratchannel.fandom.com/wiki/Chicken_Girls/Season_1) The ensemble also includes Hayley LeBlanc as Rhyme's younger sister Harmony, Brooke Butler as Ellie, Indiana Massara as Rooney, Madison Lewis as Birdie Kaye, Elliana Walmsley as Claire, and Txunamy Ortiz as Brittany.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show) Across later seasons the focus shifts generations: season 8 centers on Harmony and a middle-school squad of Chicken Girls, and season 10 introduces \"a new generation of dancers\" on the high school Varsity Dance Team.[10](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/seasons/)\n\n## Production and business context\n\nBrat TV, the Hollywood-based digital studio behind the series, was founded in 2017 and positioned *Chicken Girls* as television-quality programming for teens on free platforms rather than cheap user-generated video.[6](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/) • [11](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/greater-la/stories/brat-tv) According to co-founder Rob Fishman, the show was one of the first original series to bring Hollywood production values to YouTube, where younger audiences without cable subscriptions could watch creators they already followed, such as Jules LeBlanc and Mads Lewis.[4](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/)\n\nThe show's success supported Brat's financing. In July 2018 the company announced a $30 million funding round led by Anchorage Capital, after a $10 million round the previous year whose investors included [Shari Redstone](https://www.edgepedia.org/shari-redstone)'s Advancit Capital and NBA player [Kevin Durant](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-durant); by 2022 Brat had raised roughly $55 million in total.[6](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/) • [12](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/19/brat-tv-launches-ad-supported-streaming-app) Seasons typically cost \"hundreds of thousands of dollars\" each.[6](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/)\n\n**Distribution and monetization.** Episodes ran on YouTube at roughly 10 to 12 minutes, with Brat earning revenue through platform-sold advertising and brand sponsorships; Extra gum sponsored a season with multiple episode integrations, a campaign that delivered 202 million impressions across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.[12](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/19/brat-tv-launches-ad-supported-streaming-app) • [13](https://www.brat.tv/casestudy-extra) In January 2022 Brat launched its own ad-supported streaming app with 85 hours of programming, including the *Chicken Girls* library, alongside longer cuts closer to 22 minutes; the series also streams on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, and other services.[12](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/19/brat-tv-launches-ad-supported-streaming-app) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/chicken-girls)\n\n## The film and the franchise\n\n*Chicken Girls: The Movie* premiered in 2018 as a 70-minute feature about the high school girls banding together to save their school dance, with original songs and dance numbers that drew comparison to Disney's *High School Musical*. Filmed over three weeks in Alhambra and other Los Angeles-area locations for about $500,000, it reached 10 million views with an average view time of 30 minutes within two weeks, and Brat reported that the release added roughly 250,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel.[6](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/) • [14](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-brat-youtube-funding-20180718-story.html) A planned theatrical distribution deal with Lionsgate was amicably canceled after the studio wanted a more traditional movie and Brat wanted release before the show's third season.[14](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-brat-youtube-funding-20180718-story.html)\n\nThe franchise expanded into several spin-offs. *Chicken Girls: The College Years* (2022 to 2023, two seasons of eight episodes each) follows Birdie and Rooney at the fictional Provincetown college campus, where Rooney joins a sorority and the characters form their own new groups of \"chicken girls\"; its first season drew Eos as title sponsor and its second Takis.[15](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls-the-college-years/BnWNmEGNu9a9t3ABWtAcW4/) • [16](https://thetvdb.com/series/chicken-girls-college-years) • [4](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/) *Chicken Girls: Forever Team* (2022) was a four-episode LEGO-themed children's series.[17](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/64856/chicken-girls-forever-team) The brand also extends to an official book and podcasts.[1](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls) • [4](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/)\n\n## Reception and audience\n\nBy its tenth season Brat TV was calling *Chicken Girls* its longest-running show and \"the iconic teen soap,\" streamed among more than 20 million viewers across its catalog.[10](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/seasons/) • [18](https://www.brat.tv/) The season one premiere drew 2.5 million views, ranking as the No. 3 live-action episode to premiere on YouTube that year according to the analytics firm Tubular Labs.[19](https://macventurecapital.com/a-network-tries-to-mash-up-tv-style-and-youtubes-youth/) Critical aggregation is limited, but IMDb users give the series 5.3/10 from about 839 ratings, while Moviefone's audience score is 70.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7356206/ratings/) • [5](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/) As the original viewers aged up, Brat kept them with the college-set spin-offs while continuing to target teens and tweens with the main series.[4](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Chicken Girls – BratTV, Chris Nguyen Campbell (director's site)](https://www.chriscampbellfilm.com/chickengirls)\n2. [Chicken Girls, Brat Wiki (Fandom)](https://bratchannel.fandom.com/wiki/Chicken_Girls)\n3. [Chicken Girls, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/339854-show)\n4. [Gen Z is changing. Brat's 'Chicken Girls' franchise is growing up alongside its target audience, Tubefilter (2023)](https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/05/30/gen-z-is-changing-brats-chicken-girls-franchise-is-growing-up-alongside-its-target-audience/amp/)\n5. [Chicken Girls, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/)\n6. [With $40m in backing, Brat is trying to recreate TV for teens — on YouTube, Digiday (2018)](https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/brat-is-trying-to-recreate-tv-for-teens-on-youtube/)\n7. [Chicken Girls – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/chicken-girls)\n8. [Chicken Girls – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7356206/ratings/)\n9. [Chicken Girls Season 1, Brat Wiki (Fandom)](https://bratchannel.fandom.com/wiki/Chicken_Girls/Season_1)\n10. [Chicken Girls Seasons, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls/Njf7eVKfYZAQr5tfTMGxx3/seasons/)\n11. [From influencing to acting: Brat TV wants to take youngsters out of TikTok, KCRW](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/greater-la/stories/brat-tv)\n12. [Exclusive: Brat TV launches ad-supported streaming app, Axios (2022)](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/19/brat-tv-launches-ad-supported-streaming-app)\n13. [Extra Gum Case Study, Brat TV](https://www.brat.tv/casestudy-extra)\n14. ['Chicken Girls' maker Brat raises $30 million to produce online shows for teens, Los Angeles Times (2018)](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-brat-youtube-funding-20180718-story.html)\n15. [Chicken Girls: The College Years, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/chicken-girls-the-college-years/BnWNmEGNu9a9t3ABWtAcW4/)\n16. [Chicken Girls: College Years, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/chicken-girls-college-years)\n17. [Chicken Girls: Forever Team, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/64856/chicken-girls-forever-team)\n18. [Brat TV official site](https://www.brat.tv/)\n19. [A Network Tries to Mash Up TV Style and YouTube's Youth, MaC Venture Capital](https://macventurecapital.com/a-network-tries-to-mash-up-tv-style-and-youtubes-youth/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 2017 to 2021*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Chicken Girls\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Chicken Girls](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Chicken Girls\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/chicken-girls. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Chicken Girls: American teen web series by Brat TV, premiered September 5, 2017 on YouTube, created by Janey Feingold, starring Jules LeBlanc as Rhyme; ran 11 seasons to 2023 with a 2018 feature film and College Years spin-off." }