''Some Good News'' is a 2020 American

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

created and hosted by American actor and filmmaker

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, which premiered on March 29, 2020. Krasinski self-funded and co-produced the show with his production company,

Sunday Night Productions Sunday Night Productions is an American film and television production company founded by John Krasinski and Allyson Seeger in 2013. It is known for producing the television series ''Lip Sync Battle'', ''Dream Corp LLC'' and '' Jack Ryan'', the ...

, and filmed each episode remotely from his home in Brooklyn during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. After eight episodes and a live-streamed prom, a report from the ''Hollywood Reporter'' announced that the show was sold to

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

on May 22, 2020. Krasinski later confirmed that he dropped plans for any adaptations to the show and that it would be kept in its original format. Krasinski brought the show back for a holiday special on

in December 2020. Since the first season concluded, ''Some Good News'' has raised over $2 million for various charities through their ''Some Good Merch'' Sevenly store. Donations have gone to

Direct Relief Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally. The organization is headed by an inde ...

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, ...

, Trauma Free World,

World Central Kitchen World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by chef José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastati ...

, the

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...

Toys For Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The ...

, and the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.

Premise

The show, which was originally developed and hosted on

, is "a news show dedicated entirely to good news," with Krasinski operating inside his home during the

. In each episode, he discusses several feel-good stories and invites celebrity guests to join in conversation.

Cast

Host

Guests

Production

Development

Krasinski conceptualized ''Some Good News'' in 2013, but launched the series in 2020, amid the imposed lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. He self-financed and produced the program, in conjunction with his production banner partner, Allyson Seeger. Various companies were hired for production, editing, marketing, and other aspects. On May 21, 2020,

announced that it had acquired ''Some Good News'', following a bidding war, with the intention of turning the show into a weekly addition to traditional news segments for

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Me ...

and

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

with productions through Comedy Central Productions. Krasinski stated he would step down as host, but remain an executive producer alongside

. However, in May 2021, Krasinski announced he and

did not move forward with development plans for the company's streaming platform. Instead, ''Some Good News'' would remain in its original format on

as well as secondary video platforms established in the show's original run such as

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

Episodes

Live virtual prom special

On April 16, 2020, Krasinski announced that he was DJing a live-streamed prom special on the channel the following night at 8:00 pm EDT. The Jonas Brothers performed their song "

Sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

" while Eilish and O'Connell performed "

Bad Guy A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives. Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to: Film * ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey * ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bal ...

". Krasinski stated, "We are all going through this together. It's a very weird time, but each and every one of you are missing something and this is the least I could do and I couldn't be more proud to do it."

Mashable Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...

called the episode "truly a night to remember." ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' stated "Overall,

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

at least as fun as our actual physical prom, minus the $$$. Hope you enjoyed, Class of 2020!" Around 86,500 people were watching initially, but there were over 214,000 viewers by the end.

Reception

Audience viewership

''Some Good News'' debuted on YouTube on March 29, 2020, and accumulated 330,000 subscribers overnight. The first episode appeared on YouTube's Trending page and was viewed 3.1 million times one day after being uploaded. It had been viewed over 12 million times by April 5, 2020. Within the first eight weeks, the eight episode series drew in over 72 million views and 2.58 million subscribers.

Critical response

''Some Good News'' was positively received, including the accompanying

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account Krasinski set up for the show under the handle @somegoodnews. ''

TV Insider TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...

'' wrote "... ''Some Good News'' has proven how powerful spreading positivity can be. TV fans should put their faith in John Krasinski to deliver what the title of his YouTube series promises amidst the chaos and hardships of life during the COVID-19 pandemic." Reviewing the second episode,

CBN News The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing '' Superbook'' a ...

stated, "just like the first episode, this one is definitely worth watching."

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

stated the episode was an "explosion of good-hearted joy".

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

shared the video on social media, adding, "I couldn't help but smile after watching this video with John Krasinski, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the cast of ''Hamilton'' surprising a young fan, giving us all a little bit of joy at this difficult time." Jimmy Traina of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' said the third episode "managed to create some damn good sports content—and some tears."

Accolades

''Some Good News'' won a Special Achievement Award at the 2020 Webby Awards and was nominated for a

Streamy Award The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The forma ...

Some Good Merch

In episode eight, John Krasinski announced that ''Some Good News'' had partnered with Sevenly and the Starbucks Foundation to launch ''Some Good Merch'', an online merchandise store where 100% of profits go to charity. As of 2021, over two million dollars have been donated to six charities through ''Some Good Merch''. Donations from ''Some Good Merch'' to

specifically provided emergency aid to the Navajo Nation and White River Indian Hospital in

Fort Apache Indian Reservation The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of th ...

, a facility serving over 17,000 tribal members and run by the Indian Health Service (IHS). The donation included COVID-19 PPE, thousands of masks and sanitizer, and other relief supplies compiled by a coordinating team at First Nations Fund. Additionally, PPE donations were made to ''SelfHelp Community Services'', a home and community-based healthcare service for elderly Holocaust survivors and homebound seniors. With Trauma Free World, ''Some Good Merch'' donations went towards the international "Signs for Hope" program, which assists in the training of trauma-informed care for deaf children and orphans. Additionally, donations to the

assisted in the remote re-opening of the Metro Atlanta BGCA after the club was forced to close due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Donations have also been made to the

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The ...

, and the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.

References

External links

* * {{John Krasinski 2020 web series debuts 2020 web series endings 2020s American television talk shows 2020s YouTube series American non-fiction web series English-language television shows Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic Works by John Krasinski 2020s American television news shows Webby Award winners