Anna Daniels
Some Good News, a web series that was essentially John Krasinski sitting in his house goofing off in front of a webcam all in the name of cheering up people in quarantine, is moving up in the world. Krasinski sold the rights to the web show to CBS after a bidding war. Also, he’ll no longer host it. Sources say Krasinski was hesitant to sell what started off as a free YouTube show to help distract people in lockdown, but in the end, money won.
Look, I do not besmirch Mr. John Krasinski for seeing an opportunity to make more money. I, too, would love to sell out for oodles of cash. But there’s something particularly unseemly about this whole deal, almost as if Krasinski sneakily found a way to profit off of these uncertain times. Some Good News seemed like a lark – a harmless distraction with no bigger aspirations. However, as THR reports:
Krasinski’s team received a flood of inquiries following SGN‘s viral first episode, with suitors including broadcast networks and streaming services. His original plan was to continue to make SGN for the free and wide audience that YouTube provided. As the series continued to produce weekly viral episodes (financed by the Office grad and Jack Ryan star), corporate sponsors began to board the series with giveaways. AT&T, for example, provided a giveaway for covid first responders, while the Boston Red Sox supplied tickets to future games. With the ViacomCBS deal, the second window across linear networks will continue Krasinski’s vision of seeing SGN episodes reach a wide audience.
According to the report, CBS All Access will likely air the first new episodes before “they move to a number of the company’s linear networks.” Krasinski will no longer host, but instead serve as executive producer, with a new host being announced in the future. The series will also be produced via Comedy Central Productions. Regarding the sale, Krasinski said:
“Could not be more excited and proud to be partnering with CBS/Viacom to be able to bring Some Good News to so many more people! From the first episode, our goal was to create a news show dedicated entirely to good news. Never did I expect to be joining the ranks of such a historic news organization as CBS.”
Again: I don’t blame Krasinski for taking this deal. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it, either.
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