The Rock is cooking up something that may make YouTube Red worth paying for

It's easy to forget that between the ad-free viewing and bonus subscription to Google Play Music, YouTube Red actually has its own Netlflix-style original programming.

To fix our forgetfulness, the video service's premium tier is stepping it up with a lineup of new shows and raking in heavy producing talent, from Doug Liman to Dan Harmon to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Variety reports.

Specifically, four new projects are freshly announced for YouTube Red Originals - three of which are brand new series set to debut in the coming year:

• "Lifeline" - Executive produced by The Rock himself, Lifeline will be an eight-episode sci-fi/thriller series in which life insurance agents are sent 33 days forward in time to the untimely demise of their clients. YouTube frequenters will pick up that the show is also put together by Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer, who run the special effects-driven channel, Corridor Digital.
• "Impulse" - Taken from the pages of the third entry in the "Jumper" novels, The Bourne Identity's Doug Liman is set to produce this project about a young woman with the power to teleport.
• Untitled Dan Harmon project - From the mind of the Rick and Morty co-creator and Community mastermind Dan Harmon comes a six-episode series hosted by the let's-play leaders, The Game Grumps. The series will focus on a budding young eSports team as they climb the ranks of professional gaming.
• Season 2 of "Escape the Night" - The murder mystery series Escape the Night - one of YouTube Red's original....originals - is getting a second season. Host and creator Joey Graceffa will also return to carry on the whodunnit antics.

YouTube Red is available in Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, and the US for NZ$12/99p/AU$12/US$10 a month. 

In addition to YouTube Red Originals, the service offers video downloading for offline viewing, no ad interruptions, background play on mobile devices, and included access to Google Play Music. 

In spite of its features, YouTube Red has a hard time justifying the price tag on its otherwise free service, especially compared to competitors with similar rates like Netflix and Hulu.

That said, we personally love not having to endure the same 15-second auto insurance ad three hundred times a day just because we wanted to check our favorite channel.

• How to get YouTube videos saved for offline viewing

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