Picture Credit: Netflix
Netflix’s aggressive push into acquiring and partnering with top-tier YouTube talent continues to accelerate. Paranormal investigators Sam and Colby are the latest internet superstars to join the ever-growing roster, with a collection of their spooky episodes scheduled to drop globally on Netflix on October 1st, 2026.
If you aren’t familiar with Sam Golbach and Colby Brock, they have been internet staples for over a decade. Originally rising to fame on Vine before making a wildly successful transition to YouTube, the duo has built a massive empire investigating haunted and abandoned locations.
Just how big are they? At the time of publishing, their main Sam and Colby YouTube channel boasts 16.3 million subscribers and over 2.5 billion total views. That’s on top of their Sam and Colby Reacts channel (which holds nearly 3 million subscribers of its own) and their massive footprint across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Here is the official logline for what you can expect from their new drop on Netflix:
Best friends Sam and Colby visit the world’s most haunted places in search of paranormal evidence to answer the ultimate question: Are ghosts real?
Eagle-eyed fans of the channel actually got a cryptic heads-up about this news a few days ago. The duo posted a multi-image text teaser on their social media, thanking their community for supporting them on their journey.
“For over a decade, we’ve been exploring this insane ride, having no idea it would amount to something as life-changing as this,” the text posts read, adding that they “have worked so hard all year to bring y’all the best of the best this October.”
The teaser promised “2 major announcements coming soon”—noting that “everything we do we are doing as a family”—and confirmed that one of those announcements is about their highly anticipated annual “HELL WEEK” event. Now we know exactly what that massive second announcement was!
Following in a Long Line of YouTube Stars
As we’ve covered over the last year, Sam and Colby follow a long line of YouTube shows and stars that have made the jump to Netflix, and The Besties recently confirmed they’re making the move too. More often than not, these deals are non-exclusive, with creators keeping a footprint across other platforms.
Rather than just sticking to traditional Hollywood licensing, Netflix has actively shifted its strategy to partner with the biggest creators on the internet. Throughout 2026 alone, Netflix has licensed and acquired a massive slate of YouTube hits. We’ve also seen unique day-and-date streaming deals struck for indie animation juggernaut The Amazing Digital Circus and legendary duo Rhett & Link, who just brought Good Mythical Morning and Mythical Kitchen to the service on September 7th. This is all on top of a massive push into YouTube kids’ entertainment, with titans like Salish & Jordan Matter, Ms. Rachel, Mark Rober, Danny Go!, and ChuChu TV among many others all joining the roster, often to massive viewership.
The streamer’s strategy is undeniably clear: Netflix knows that younger audiences are spending a massive chunk of their screen time on YouTube, and by bringing them over, they’re hoping that viewership can migrate or stay on Netflix and after they’ve binged through episodes, can be introduced to other Netflix programming.
