The big news for “Some Good News” was seen as bad news by many fans: John Krasinski sold his low-budget YouTube series to CBS.
So now the affable host is trying to smooth things over after many viewers have accused him of “selling out.”
Krasinksi appeared on his former “The Office” co-star Rainn Wilson’s Instagram Live FB, -1.60% series on Wednesday to explain why he sold his feel-good grass roots project to ViacomCBS VIAC, -3.68%.
“It was one of those things where I was only planning on doing eight [episodes] during quarantine, because I have these other things that I’m going to be having to do very soon, like ‘Jack Ryan’ and all this other stuff,” he said. “More than that…writing, directing, and producing — all those things — with a couple of my friends was so much.”
“ “I would love to keep doing the show from my office forever. It just wasn’t sustainable.” ”
Krasinski launched “Some Good News” to focus on positive anecdotes during the coronavirus pandemic, as an antidote to the dire (and often politicized) health and economic news resulting from the outbreak that’s killed more than 100,000 Americans and put 48 million out of work. And “SGN” was an immediate hit, drawing more than 72 million views and 2.58 million subscribers on the Alphabet-owned GOOG, -0.07% YouTube in just eight weeks.
Read more:John Krasinski and Steve Carell bring ‘Some Good News’ in a new YouTube series
Krasinski produced eight free episodes, which highlighted the good news stories going viral on social media each week, as well as online graduations, a virtual prom, plus an “Office” reunion and a performance by the “Hamilton” cast.
Related: ‘Hamilton’ movie is dropping exclusively on Disney+ this July
But “SGN’s” appeal came as much from its adorable low production values as the viral feel-good stories that each 20-minute episode shared. For example, the “SGN” sign on the wall behind Krasinski was drawn by his daughters. He also opened his inaugural newscast by admitting, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”
So after Krasinski and the show announced the ViacomCBS deal on May 22, many viewers voiced concerns on Twitter TWTR, -4.44% and Instagram about the show losing its authenticity. The original May 22 tweet has drawn almost 900 comments, with the top one coming from a viewer under the name Chloe Sparks, who wrote, “highly disappointed that you sold the show,” and “my opinion of you has fallen a bit.”
Still others felt betrayed about Krasinski “profiting” off “Some Good News.” While the cost of the deal has not been reported, The Hollywood Reporter suggested there was a “massive bidding war” over the series.
It should be noted that Krasinski also wrote, directed and starred in “A Quiet Place” for Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, and his Amazon AMZN, -0.38% series “Jack Ryan” is produced by Paramount Television Studios, so he has a working relationship with the company already.
Other critics complained that the free-to-view “SGN” will now be locked behind a paywall on the CBS All Access streaming service. The Hollywood Reporter made a similar claim while covering the acquisition, writing: “CBS All Access … will have the first window for the new episodes before they move to a number of the company’s linear networks.”
But Krasinski debunked that on his Twitter feed, writing, “Nope, not cbs all access. That was indeed incorrect.”
And the “SGN” official Twitter account has also been fielding questions about paywalls in its feed, countering that, “Our goal is to keep SGN as accessible as it has always been. Stay tuned!”
And while Krasinski will not continue to be “SGN’s” regular host when it moves to CBS, he will be an executive producer on the project who will still have an on-air presence at times. In fact, he told Wilson during the Wednesday interview that, “I’m going to be a part of it whenever I can, and I’m going to host a couple episodes and bring on a different community of people. We’re really, really excited about it.”
Related:CBS is the most watched TV network for 12th consecutive year
And he repeatedly gushed over how much the “SGN” fan base means to him. “I felt like I was a part of a really, really special community of people who brought not only all the good news but all this interaction,” he said.
“I’ve received the most amazingly kind notes about how much that show meant to everyone, but the truth is it meant no more to anyone than me,” he said. “That’s probably the most emotionally fulfilled I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Catch the interview here, with the “SGN” discussion beginning around 14:24:
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