‘The Group Chat’ is the internet’s latest obsession. Here’s what you need to know about the TikTok series
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — TikTok really is starting to feel like the new television.
Much like last year’s “Who TF Did I Marry” in which Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson shared her side of the story of how her marriage went horribly wrong, a new multi-episode “series” has the internet in a chokehold.
This time, it’s “The Group Chat” in which 27-year-old TikToker Sydney Robinson plays multiple characters involved in a group chat.
Here’s what you need to know:
The plot
The action in this series revolves around a fictional group of friends who are trying to arrange a dinner but one of them, Hailey, wants to bring her boyfriend, Justin.
“Justin really had such a rough day and I don’t want to leave him alone,” Hailey writes in the group chat.
Some of the other women in the group are not thrilled with the idea of the unwanted plus one.
“Is she kidding? She’s trying to bring her boyfriend AGAIN,” one of the other characters says in exasperation.
What follows is an attempt to “uninvite” Justin and some more drama.
Robinson, 27, told “Today” she was inspired to do the TikTok series after watching an episode of reality show “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” while flying to Las Vegas last summer. In it, cast member Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino lets the rest of the cast know he’s been released from jail via their group chat.
“He texts everyone that he’s out, and they’re all on a vacation in a house sleeping, and it just revives the group chat. It revives the entire group,” she told “Today.” “Everyone’s like, waking up, looking at it, and just the very idea of his name popping up on their home screen sent shock waves through the house. “I was like, ‘That. That feeling.’”
Famous fans
Apparently, the plot is super relatable and has gone viral since the first video was posted on March 30.
It’s attracted so much attention that the TikTok account for UPS commented “Everybody quiet … my show is on” in the comments. Multiple celebrities have also responded, including Bethenny Frankel, Leslie Jones, Hailey Bieber and Charlie Puth.
Bieber’s interest was especially notable to those following along as some had thought the main characters were based on Hailey Bieber and her husband Justin Bieber. However, according to Robinson, the character Hailey is based on the character of Haley James Scott from the series “One Tree Hill,” not Mrs. Bieber.
Puth’s comment, meanwhile, stunned Robinson.
“I’m so invested in this…,” Puth wrote in the comments on the second episode to which Robinson responded “Sorry I can’t make a part 3- I’ve simply passed away.”
Robinson said she was napping after posting part two and awoke to multiple missed calls from her mother who was vacationing outside of the country at the time.
“She’s calling me like 100 times, and she’s like, ‘Charlie Puth commented on your video,’” Robinson told “Today.” “And I was like, ‘No, shut up.’”
But since Charlie Puth is into it…
Episode 4 was so eagerly awaited that Robinson teased her followers with a trailer for it.
It turned out to be well worth the wait as the fourth installment featured the group meet up at the restaurant where – PLOT TWIST – Justin is there in a way that viewers had not anticipated.
There was also a surprise in that Puth voiced Justin, something Robinson tried to keep secret, but some of her followers recognized the singer’s voice right away.
She said she was surprised that he agreed to do it after they messaged about his interest in the skits.
“I have no idea why this massive man in the music industry with 22 million followers would want to be a part of my ‘Group Chat’ skit,” she said.
Not that Robinson isn’t amassing her own fans. In fact, she now has more than 1.2 million followers and “The Group Chat” videos (including the trailer) have more than 77 million views.
The-CNN-Wire
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