What is Quibi? Shows, movies, price, and everything else you need to know

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, the demand for streaming services has never been higher. Movies are heading to Disney Plus shortly after their theatrical release, and popular streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video are adding content en masse. Now there's a new competitor entering the arena, but it's approaching things in an entirely novel way. 

Quibi is an app-based streaming service that launched early on April 6 with entirely original content – think Apple TV+. The focus is "quick bites" and "big stories," or shorter content that can only be viewed on mobile devices, with A-list celebs like Steven Spielberg, Chrissy Teigen, Sophie Turner, and LeBron James involved, plus nostalgic content fine-tuned to maximize viewers. There's a ton of shows already available on the app, and 11 more coming later in April, including a Joe Jonas-hosted travel series, a WWE Superstar show called Fight Like a Girl, and an Anna Kendrick comedy series. Oh, and a revival of cult comedy series Reno 911!

Here's everything you need to know about Quibi, including how to get it and what shows are coming soon.

What is Quibi?

Quibi is the brainchild of DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, offering episodes no longer than ten minutes. In fact, the name "Quibi" is a shortening of the phrase "quick bites". It's a mobile-only streaming service that launched in early April 2020 in the US, with a UK and Australia release date TBD.

Quibi's content falls into three categories: movies in chapters, unscripted or documentary shows, and daily essentials or curated bits of news, entertainment, and sports that fall under seven minutes.

Is Quibi free?

Technically, no (see the cost below), but the service is currently running a deal where you can sign up and get 90 days free. 

How much does Quibi cost?

Quibi subscriptions fall under two tiers: a $4.99/month, ad-supported subscription, where videos under five minutes get 10-second ads and longer videos will get 15-second ads. The second, ad-free tier is $7.99/month. 

Right now, however, Quibi is offering the first 90 days free.

How to download the Quibi app

Head to the Quibi site for details on how to download the app, or find it in the Apple Store for iOS devices or the Google Play store for Android devices.

Quibi movies

Quibi is approaching movies from an entirely different angle – in pieces. The "movies in chapters" angle means each movie has been broken up into chunks of ten minutes or less, which gives filmmakers a chance to experiment wildly with cliffhangers and plot devices. Plus, you can watch the movies in either vertical or horizontal view, which makes cinematography a major factor as well. However these movies turn out, it's certainly an interesting experiment, and one that has drawn some big-ticket names, including Sam Raimi, Steven Spielberg, and Christoph Waltz.

Here are all the movies in chapters that are currently on or coming soon to Quibi (click the movie titles to check out their trailers):

• 50 States of Fright (April 12): Sam Raimi executive produces this horror anthology exploring American urban legends. 
• Most Dangerous Game (available now): Chris Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz star in this modern take on Richard Connell's short story of the same name.
• Survive (available now): Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner stars alongside Corey Hawksin as plane crash survivors struggling to stay alive in a frigid wilderness.
• When The Streetlights Go On (available now): Queen Latifah stars as a cop investigating a small-town murder that took place in the blistering heat of the summer of 1995.
• Flipped (available now): Kaitlin Olson and Will Forte star as wannabe home renovation stars who end up flipping a house for a drug cartel.

Quibi shows and docuseries

Quibi has a handful of shows tailored to scratching the nostalgia itch, including a revamped series of Punk'd with Chance the Rapper in Ashton Kutcher's place, and an adult version of the Nickelodeon kids competition Legends of the Hidden Temple (which is currently TBD, as it was meant to begin shooting in April). But there's also a ton of content banking on big-name celebs to draw interest: like Chrissy Teigen, Offset, and Joe Jonas, just to name a few.

Here's all the unscripted and documentary shows that are currently on or coming soon to Quibi (click the show titles to check out their trailers):

• &Music (available now): A look at the members of the music industry you don't often hear about, like choreographers and lighting directors (there's an Ariana Grande episode!!).
• Chrissy's Court (available now): It's precisely what it sounds like: everyone's favorite chef, model, and Twitter personality, Chrissy Teigen, gets a courtroom show ala Judge Judy
• Dishmantled (available now): Titus Burgess hosts a cooking show where blindfolded professional chefs are cannon-blasted in the face with a mystery dish that they then have to recreate.
• Elba vs. Block (April 13): Professional actor and hot CGI cat Idris Elba faces off against precision driver Ken Block to win races and pull off vehicle stunts.
• Fierce Queens (available now): Reese Witherspoon narrates the aptly-titled female-centric nature show.
• Gayme Show (available now): Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni host a game show where to straight contestants compete to be the most gay. 
• Gone Mental with Lior (available now): Famous mentalist Lior Suchard enlists celebs to perform mind-bending tricks.
• I Promise (available now): A documentary about Lebron James' I Promise School, a public elementary school in Akron, Ohio. 
• Memory Hole (available now): Will Arnett hosts an archival look at pop culture's most cringey moments.

• Murder House Flip (available now): Home renovation, but make it a murder house.
• NightGowns with Sasha Velour (available now): RuPaul's Drag Race winner and NYC drag royalty Sasha Velour shows off her highly conceptual drag show, NightGowns.
• Nikki Fre$h (available now): A comedy series about Nicole Richie's rap alter ego, a crunchy mom peddling crystal granola.
• Prodigy (available now): Eight young athletic phenoms tell their stories, hosted by multi-time women's world soccer champion Megan Rapinoe.
• Punk'd (available now): Ashton Kutcher's famous celebrity prank show is back (kind of). Now it's hosted by Chance the Rapper and features celebs like Liza Koshy and Megan thee Stallion.
• Run This City (available now): Remember how Parks and Recreation's Ben Wyatt was a super-young mayor and it was a disaster? Run This City is a docuseries about that happening in real life, plus federal indictment.
• The Sauce (available now): Sibling dance duo Ayo and Teo travel around the world to find the best dancers with the most sauce (read: style, flavor, sickness). Oh, and it's produced by Usher.
• Shape of Pasta (available now): A professional chef heads to remote Italian villages to find rare pasta shapes. Che bello!
• Singled Out (available now): It's a reboot of MTV's '90s dating show, but now it's hosted by Keke Palmer and features a modern spin.
• Skrrt with Offset (available now): Offset, aka one-third of rap group Migos, hosts a show that looks at celebrity's wild cars. As Offset himself once said "Hit the gas, it got flames out the rears (Skrrt)//It's a race to the bag, get the mills (Hey)."
• Thanks a Million (available now): Executive producer Jennifer Lopez and a crew of fellow celebs give away $100,000 each to a person who impacted each of their lives.
• You Ain't Got These (available now): Lena Waithe executive produces this sneakerhead fantasy.

Quibi daily news programs

Quibi's 'Daily Essentials' are exactly what they sound like – daily news programs from the world of sports, entertainment, gaming, and more. No episode will run longer than seven minutes, so expect a daily dose of bite-sized knowledge on a menagerie of subjects.

• 60 in 6 by CBS News: CBS show 60 Minutes, but in 6 minutes. Get it?
• All the Feels by the Dodo: You know The Dodo, the source of almost all the squee-worthy, feel-good animal content on the web? Yeah, it's got a show now.
• Around the World by BBC News
• Close Up by E! News: Your source for pop culture news and hot celeb goss.
• The Daily Chill: An ASMR show with visuals set to the soothing sounds.
• Fashion's a Drag: Willam Belli of kicked-off-of-Ru-Paul's-Drag-Race fame and blogger Rachel Hollis discuss fashion trends.
• Fresh Daily by Rotten Tomatoes
• For the Cultura by Telemundo: Pop culture updates from Telemundo, tailored to English-speaking members of the Latinx community.
• Hot off the Mic: A daily standup series, for established and up-and-coming comedians.
• Last Night's Late Night: Entertainment Weekly recaps late night shows from the night before.
• Morning Report by NBC News
• The Nod with Brittany and Eric: It's the podcast of the same name, giving daily updates from the black community. 
• NewsDay and NewsNight by CTV News: Canadian news show
• No Filter by TMZ AM
• No Filter by TMZ PM
• Pop5: Pop music news
• Pulso News by Telemundo
• The Rachel Hollis Show: Author and blogger Rachel Hollis gives you some daily motivation.
• The Replay by ESPN
• Saturday Report by NBC News
• Sexology by Shan Boodram: An educational show about sex and dating, hosted by sex educator Shan Boodram.
• Speedrun by Polygon: Gaming website Polygon provides daily video game news.
• Sunday Report by NBC News
• Trailers by Fandango
• Untitled TSN sports show: Canadian sports, eh?
• Weather Today by the Weather Channel

Upcoming Quibi movies

• Dummy (April 20): Anna Kendrick stars as a writer whose boyfriend is paying more attention to his sex doll.
• #FreeRayShawn (April 13): Stephen James plays a war veteran set up by crooked cops in a contemporary take on Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. 
• The Fugitive (coming in April): Boyd Holbrook and Kiefer Sutherland start in the loose remake of the 1993 Harrison Ford movie, which was a remake of the 1963 TV series.
• The Stranger (April 13): Oh god, it's an Uber thriller. Dane Dehaan is a creepy passenger in Maika Monroe's rideshare car.

Upcoming Quibi shows

• 48 Laws of Power (TBD): The docu-series executive produced by Drake expands upon the nature of power, how to get it, and keep it.
• The Andy Cohen Diaries (TBD): An animated series where the pop icon tells the juiciest personal stories. 
• Agua Donkeys (April 13): Funny or Die produced this series based on the short film of the same name.
• Barkitecture (TBD): This may be the show I'm most excited about - Tyler Cameron helps design custom dog houses that are nicer than my apartment.
• Beauty (TBD):  Tyra Banks explores beauty standards and questions how they'cre created. 
• Benedict Men (TBD): Steph Curry produces this docuseries about a New Jersey high school basketball team whose belief is "What Hurts My Brother Hurts Me."
• Biggest Little Cook Off (TBD): A comedic cooking show where chefs have to create absurd meals, hosted by Andy Samberg.
• Blackballed (TBD):  Exploring the scandal of LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, whow as recorded making racist comments and subsequently fired.
• Black Coffee (TBD): A former NBA star returns to his hometown and opens a coffee shop in this comedy produced by Gabrielle Union.
• Centerpiece (TBD): Rashida Jones hosts this series, where celebs make floral centerpieces.
• Charlemagne (TBD): A historical drama about Roman emperor Charlemagne's reign, created by Vikings creator Michael Hirst.
• Code 8 Spin-Off (TBD): A sequel to the 2019 film in which 4% of the world has supernatural abilities.
• Crazy Talented (TBD): A patient in a psych ward convinces other patients they have superpowers and must help save the world from aliens.
• CURS_R (TBD): Ridley Scott executive produces this drama about a poor college student who dries to win cash by playing an obscure '80s survival computer game. 
• Cup of Joe (TBD): It's a Joe Jonas travel show!
• Dead Spots (TBD): A janitor for LA's supernatural community is sick of cleaning up vampire messes and switches it up. The series is based on Melissa F. Olson's novel and written by Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon.
• Die Hart (TBD): Kevin Hart plays Kevin Hart in a comedy series about Kevin Hart trying to become an action star, with John Travolta, Josh Hartnett, and Nathalie Emmanuel guest starring.
• Don't Look Deeper (TBD): A high schooler thinks she may not be human, and discovers the dangerous world that comes with such a status in this series starring Emily Mortimer and Don Cheadle. It's directed and executive produced by Catherine Hardwicke.
• Emma (TBD): A horror series about a young pregnant woman and the strange side effects of her pregnancy, starring AnnaSophia Robb. 
• Empires of Luxury (TBD): Telling the stories of families behind luxury labels. 

• The FaZe Up (TBD): E-sports team FaZe Clan partners with Quibi to give us a game show featuring six subscribers competing in real-world and gaming challenges to join the FaZe team.
• Fight Like a Girl (April 13): The WWE series pairs women pro wrestler with young women in a quest to better themselves
• Floored (April 27): Dance teams compete on a moving dance floor with obstacles.
• Frat Boy Genius (TBD): It's The Social Network but about Snapchat. 
• Gloop World (TBD): A claymation series from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland.
• Hardflip (TBD): A drama series set in the competitive skateboarding universe, Hardflip tells the story of a successful teenager and his friends as they figure out the wild world they're in. 
• Heartbeats (TBD): Heartbeats is a dramedy about the the "perfect couple" breaking up. 
• High & Low (TBD): Two sisters travel around the world and toss a coin to figure out who will enjoy the high life at the chosen locale and spend top dollar and who will have the budget experience.
• The Hot Drop (TBD): An interactive dating show that let's the viewers' make decisions on who dates who.
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (TBD): A remake of the classic film is set to hit Quibi at some point, written by Guy Branum. 
• How We Met (TBD): Couples tell the story of how they met.
• The Ice Cream Man (TBD): Based on the comic series of the same name, the horror-fantasy series is all about, well, an ice cream man. 
• Immoral Compass (TBD): Bill Burr writes, directs, executive produces, and stars in a series that asks stand-up comedians to make an unethical decision to get something they desire.
• Inspired By (TBD): Justin Timberlake hosts and asks singers about their inspiration behind their music.

• Iron Sharpens Iron (TBD): Top athletes share fitness tips and keys to success, hosted by Cam Newton and Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young.
• Junior High (TBD): A middle school comedy based off a popular YouTube series.
• Just One Drink (TBD): Laura Dern stars as a bartender listening to her customer's problems, set in one-act shorts and written by Nick Hornby. 
• Killing Zac Efron (TBD): Actor Zac Efron goes to a remote island with limited gear and must put his survival skills to the test in an unscripted series.
• Kirby Jenner (TBD): A show based off the parody Instagram account about Kendall Jenner's fake twin brother, Kirby.
• The Last American Vampire (TBD): A drama based on a novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, telling the story of a 500-year-old vampire who has to team up with a rookie FBI agent.
• Last Looks (TBD): Refinery29 produces this series about crimes in the fashion industry.
• Last Resort (TBD): Dwayne Johnson and Paul Feig co-produce a comedy series about a Polynesian family fighting a tech billionaire trying to buy their land.
• Legends of the Hidden Temple (TBD): A remake of the classic children's gameshow from the Nickelodeon days, but with adult competitors (I may have filled out an application).
• Let's Go Atsuko! (TBD): A surreal game show hosted by comedian Atsuko Okatsuka in which two contestants must navigate her grandmother's fridge.
• Let's Roll with Tony Greenhand (April 13): A cannabis artist and a celebrity roll  wild joints together.
• Life-Size Toys (TBD): Nitro Circus creates life-sized versions of childhood toys and turns them into stunts.
• Mapleworth Murders (TBD): A comedy procedural from John Lutz and Paula Pell, with Pell investigating a series of murders in a small town. There's an all-star cast set to show up every week, including Terry Crews, Tim Meadows, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, and more.

• Micro Mayhem (TBD): A stop-motion, dialogue-free series about cars from Robot Chicken's Eric Towner.
• Moving the Needle with Dr. Woo (TBD): Celebrity tattoo artist Dr. Woo (he's done work for Drake, Miley Cyrus and Zoe Kravitz) gives you a look inside his life.
• Murder Unboxed (TBD): You know all those YouTube unboxing videos? That but it's true crime cases, with evidence items revealed one step at a time.
• Natural Born Narcos (TBD): A drama series that's a prequel to a Telemundo show about a real-life drug lord named Amado Carrillo Fuentes. 
• Nice One! (TBD): Comedians try to out-compliment each other.
• The Now (TBD): A suicidal man (Dave Franco) whose brother and father died by suicide tries to learn to live his life. Co-starring Daryl Hanna, O'Shea Jackson, and Bill Murray.
• Pillow Talk with Demi Lovato (TBD): Lovato has candid conversations with celebs and experts.
• Potty Talk (TBD): Alexander Wang plays game with celebs in the bathrooms at high-profile events.
• Q Talks (TBD): A comedian hosts talk show where celebrities read from scrips they've never seen before to give "expert" talks on topics they've never heard of.
• Reno 911! (TBD): Need I say more?
• Rapper Warrior Ninja (TBD): An Eric Andrew Show skit gets its own legs, with rappers freestyling while navigating an obstacle course.
• Royalties (TBD): Darren Criss stars as one part of a songwriting duo writing music for absurd pop stars (played by real-life celebs).
• Sex Next Door (TBD): Sex workers in Seattle let us into their world.
• Skinny Dip (TBD): A dark comedy adapted from the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name, in which a woman's husband pushes her overboard on a cruise.
• Slugfest (TBD): Joe and Anthony Russo executive produce this docuseries about Marvel and DC Comics' lengthy rivalry.
• Spielberg's After Dark (TBD): It is what it sounds like - a horror series by Spielberg that you can only watch at night. 

• Squeaky Clean (TBD): A cleaning competition series pitting "Heroes of Hygiene" against each other. Where does my mother sign up?
• Swimming With Sharks (TBD): A female assistant to a movie mogul changes up the game in a modern take on the 1994 satire.
• This Joka (TBD): Will Smith hosts a stand=up comedy series.
• Tomie (TBD): The popular manga series by Junji Ito gets a live-action take, directed by Alexandre Aja. 
• Toys (TBD): Based on the James Patterson novel, this dystopian drama tells the story of a world where humans are split between 'Elites' and 'Basics' aka the way I categorize my friends.
• Transmissions (TBD): A sci-fi thriller about a scientist all alone in an observatory who starts to get signals from space.
• Trill League (TBD): 50 Cent executive produced this animated adaptation of an indie graphic novel about a league of black superheroes.
• Trip (TBD): Two best friends' Fire Island summer vacation turns into a romance - and it's inspired by Pride and Prejudice! 
• Untitled Guillermo del Toro project (TBD): A zombie series by the icon is said to be in the works at Quibi.
• Winos (TBD): A Silicon Valley guy tries to branch out into the winery world.
• Varsity Blues (TBD): A reboot of the classic 1999 film, with two of the movie's producers signed onto the project.
• Wireless (TBD): A college student gets trapped in the Colorado mountains.
• Wolves and Villagers (TBD): Naomi Watts starts in a horror series that, according to TV Guide, has been described by Jeffrey Katzenberg as "Fatal Attraction 2.0."

So that's that, all we know about the new app-based streaming service Quibi, and it's laundry list of shows and A-list talent. Will the app be a successful new take on streaming? Stay tuned and find out.

While you’re here, why not check out the best movies on Disney Plus? Or check out the 30 best sitcoms you can stream right now.