News About "Some Good News"!
image courtesy of boredpanda.com
By ELLIE MRAZ ‘21
John Krasinski has touched the hearts of millions of people quarantined at home with his YouTube series “Some Good News.” Operating from home, Krasinski created “a news show dedicated entirely to good news,” bringing joy to viewers while the news is dominated by daily death counts and our frightening inability to stop the virus’s spread. In only two months, the series generated over 71 million views and 2.57 million subscribers on YouTube. The episodes showed all sorts of good news sent in from people around the world, ranging from the efforts to recognize health care workers, to marriage proposals, to guest appearances by famous and influential people, to “homemade” Olympics. Some highlights included multiple reunions of “The Office” cast for interviews, appearances at the internet prom, and a performance of the famous dance sequence from Jim and Pam’s wedding. During one of the episodes, Krasinski gifted a 9-year-old mega Hamilton fan the gift of a lifetime by inviting the original Broadway cast to perform the opening song for her over Zoom, as she could not see the show in person because of COVID-19. Her overjoyed expression when she realized Lin-Manuel Miranda had joined the Zoom call was priceless. The episode even ended with a quarantine version of the Hamilton song “My Shot” performed by two boys and in which the original lines were replaced with ones such as “I’m not gonna leave my house.”
John Krasinski hosted many other joyful events, including a much appreciated virtual prom episode for the senior class of 2020. Guest singers such as Billie Eilish and the Jonas Brothers performed while videos of dressed-up teens dancing from home were shown. Another episode featured the arrival home of a girl, Coco, who had just finished chemotherapy treatment. She was greeted by her entire neighborhood’s throwing her a social distancing celebration. Krasinski even hosted an online senior graduation with surprise appearances from Oprah, Steven Spielberg, Jon Stewart, and Malala Yousafzai. These celebrity guests answered graduates’ questions about life, success, and failures. Another favorite clip was of an 8-year-old Jeep enthusiast whose mom sent out a request asking if anyone with a Jeep could drive by their house on his special day. To their surprise, over 100 Jeeps drove down their street to help celebrate. Yet another memorable moment was a segment covering 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore in the UK, who, walking laps around his tiny yard with his walker, raised more than 20 million pounds for NHS charities. Krasinski told his guests, “I’m only delivering the good news. You are the good news.”
For the past eight weeks, this YouTube series has brought some welcome distraction to millions of people around the world, but now will not be the end. Just recently, Krasinski sold the “Some Good News” series to CBS. Krasinski will no longer be hosting the episodes but will still contribute as a producer. Fans were not happy at this development, as to continue watching you will need to pay $5.99 a month. One person tweeted, “So he made 8 YouTube videos composed largely of unpaid contributions from fans, sold the brand to a major conglomerate, and isn't even going to make it anymore? Just cashed out? Does this rub anyone else the wrong way, kinda?” Others took the news happily. Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake tweeted, "Good for @johnkrasinski for creating this wonderful series, and good for CBS for buying it. It's a great fit." Either way, while it lasted, the “Some Good News” YouTube series brought smiles to many faces, creating an escape from the negative news that bombards us daily. If you have not watched the series and need a pick-me-up, you can still watch the “Some Good News” episodes on YouTube.