Watcher Entertainment

Watcher Entertainment (also known as simply Watcher) is a digital production studio based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 2019 by Ryan Bergara, Steven Lim and Shane Madej, who are well known by their past work at digital media company Buzzfeed. The co-founders announced the company's launch via their personal social media on Instagram and Twitter on December 9, 2019, releasing a teaser video on their new YouTube channel alongside an article by Variety. The company is signed with Creative Artists Agency as of April 2020, and is managed by Chas Lacaillade of Bottlerocket Management. Watcher Entertainment is majority-owned by Bergara, Lim and Madej, and they have also received funding from Neuro, a company that sells energy gum and mints; Boba Guys, a bubble tea chain startup; and Steve Chen, one of YouTube's co-founders. Their YouTube channel officially launched on January 20, 2020 with their first episode of Puppet History and an episode of Watcher Weekly. 
==YouTube==
Watcher Entertainment currently has ten shows and one talk show on their main YouTube channel, Watcher, covering various topics such as horror, food and history. Their podcast channel, Watcher Podcasts, hosts video forms of their podcast Here's What You Do. As of May 2020, their main YouTube channel has over 595,000 subscribers with a combined view count of over 15 million, while their podcast channel has over 10000 subscribers. Their shows mostly star the three co-founders and occasionally guest stars various celebrities. 
==Shows==
===Grocery run===
Grocery Run is an interview and food show where Lim takes guests throughout the process of selecting, buying, and making a signature dish for him. He jokes on the web-series that he has the guests agree to do the show by footing the bill. In the process of buying and making the dish of the episode he asks the guest about their job and their experiences through life, along with advice they would give the people watching.
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Guest 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Philip Wang, Durian Wafers, & Being Asian On YouTube • Grocery Run 	Philip Wang 	February 13, 2020	
1 	Megan Lee, Being A K-Pop Idol, & Meeting Twitch Fans IRL • Grocery Run	Megan Lee 	April 3, 2020 	
1 	Shib Sibs Share Their Secret To Olympic Success • Grocery Run 	Alex Shibutani & Maia Shibutani	May 1, 2020 	
===Homemade===
Homemade is a food show hosted by Lim, where he compares restaurant dishes with those that are homemade alongside a guest. Lim examines the food by comparing what he calls an "elevated restaurant experience" to a "home-cooked experience". He compares the taste and experience you have when you eat the food at a restaurant versus when you make and eat the food at home. He shows the different ways that food can have meaning in a persons life, and what food can mean to a person in the context of their family and friends. Lim aims to explore various family culinary traditions across different cultures via the show. 
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Guest 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Pro Chef Vs. Mom's Homemade Dumplings • Homemade 	Melody Cheng	January 30, 2020	
1 	Pro Chef Vs. Grandma's Homemade Tamales • Homemade	Ryan Bergara	March 19, 2020 	
1 	Pro Chef Vs. Mom's Homemade Pho • Homemade 	Cathy Nguyen	May 15, 2020 	
=== Making watcher ===
Making Watcher is a Patreon exclusive series about the creation and journey of the Watcher Entertainment company. The first episode is free to the public on YouTube. However, all subsequent episodes will be exclusively released on Patreon for Patreon members.
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Our New Company • Making Watcher	January 18, 2020	
===Puppet history===
Puppet History is hosted by Madej, where he — with a puppet named The Professor — teaches guests about a topic in history through skits, elaborate musical numbers and has them compete for the title of History Master.
==== The professor ====
The Professor (also known as Professor McNasty, born approx. 1960 - 1980) is the host of Watcher Entertainment's series Puppet History. His birth name is unknown, however it is close to Professor McNasty - which was adopted as a nickname. The Professor an alumnus of Puppet University, where he presumably read History and earned his doctorate. Whilst it is unclear what specific area of history he specialises in, it is feasible that it is in European history, due to the topic's prevalence in Puppet History. It is also possible that The Professor specialises in Cultural History, due to his interest in Identity Politics - shown by his socially liberal views. The Professor also has some form of relationship with Satan, God and Death, who all perform on the show in some capacity. This raises the question to the nature of The Professor, who may be some form of deity himself. Another part of The Professor's nature is his political leaning. The Professor has espoused left leaning views, being supportive the raise in minimum wage, and largely focusing on female historical figures - something not common in Western Academia. This may be a sign of, not only, The Professor's interest in Identity Politics, and Cultural History, but also his political allegiance. He is aware of other cultural norms in the West - such as Western patriarchal expectations on female modesty, cat-fishing, Shark Tank, "horse girls", Mr. Brightside, rent tenancy agreements and the German accent. Though, The Professor seems unaware of life in Los Angeles, as he questions the commonality of the rodent in L.A.. This brings into question his understanding of the West, as he is ignorant of native life in the city.
The location of Puppet University is unknown, as is the species of The Professor. Whilst The Professor may be humanoid, it is also possible that The Professor is some form of insect-like creature. The fact that The Professor excretes Jelly Beans could be reminiscent of the digestive system of butterflies and bees, who digest the sweet sap from plants and excrete a sweet substance. The Professor excretes Jelly Beans, and loves sugar cubes. Further supporting this is the insect-like mandibles of The Professor. As he has no teeth, it is reasonable to assume that The Professor must consist on a liquid heavy diet - similar to a bee. However, the pellet form and tough exterior of Jelly Beans suggest a high fibre diet. This may contradict the notion that The Professor is on a solely liquid diet. Furthermore, the front-facing eyes of The Professor suggest that he is a predator, dissimilar to many insects, who are herbivorous. The Professor does threaten contestant Ryan Bergara, which implies that he is capable and, at least, willing to kill another living thing. The Professor may have anger issues, as he frequently shakes with rage, and is regularly annoyed by contestant Ryan Bergara's actions - however this is likely fuelled by The Professor's dislike of Bergara. The Professor's eyes are fully working as he assures audience, though he, presumably, requires glasses to see clearly. The Professor is may be long-sighted, as he wears glasses during the filming of Puppet History, suggesting he cannot see the contestants very well. 
The Professor does not seem to earn money, as mentioned by the Pile-of-Anthropomorphic-Diamonds who comments that The Professor is too busy reading, whilst other puppets try to 'keep the lights on' - an idiom meaning "earning enough money to survive". Though, The Professor seems unaware of the fact that he, individually, is a puppet. He is unaware of Shane Madej - who puppets him -but he is aware of other puppets, such as Kermit and Jim Hensen. The Professor's lack of money is particularly perplexing when you consider that The Professor's awareness of pneumatic tubes at banks, which are mostly used in American drive-up banks to transport money and documents from the car, to the bank offices and back. This suggests that The Professor can drive, and may own a car. 
The Professor also wears the same outfit everyday - possibly because he does not sweat, or because he owns multiple pairs of the same clothing item. He also loves Lazy Rivers, wishing to die in one. The Professor may believe he will go to Heaven, as shown by a graphic in the third episode of the firth series. Furthermore, The Professor regularly passes out as the curtain falls during his performances. This may be because the curtain hits his head regularly during performances, or because he suffers from some sort of deficiency, or circulatory issue - if he, indeed, has blood.
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Guests 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Life During The Black Death Pandemic • Puppet History 	Ryan Bergara & Steven Lim 	January 10, 2020 	
1 	Stealing The World's Most Expensive Necklace • Puppet History 	Ryan Bergara & Kate Peterman 	February 27, 2020	
1 	Surviving The Titanic: History's Luckiest Woman • Puppet History	Ryan Bergara & Jenny Lorenzo 	April 10, 2020 	
1 	The Dancing Plague • Puppet History 	Ryan Bergara & Jermaine Fowler	May 22, 2020 	
===Social distancing & dungeons & dragons===
Social Distancing & Dungeons & Dragons (also known more simply as SD&D&D) is a show surrounding the role-playing game Dungeons and DragonsDungeons & Dragons. Madej acts as the dungeon master, while Lim, Bergara and Watcher Entertainment's Head of Development Katie LeBlanc act as party members Stephanos Coffeebean, Steve, and Qezza, respectively. The show was introduced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, hence the title. 
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Social Distancing D&D • The Quarantine Games 	March 27, 2020	
1 	How To Kill A Troll • The Quarantine Games 	April 5, 2020 	
1 	Ryan Serenades a Gnome • The Quarantine Games 	April 12, 2020	
1 	Bergara Guitara Bard Battle • The Quarantine Games 	April 19, 2020	
1 	Descent Into The Sewers • The Quarantine Games 	April 26, 2020	
1 	Ryan Goes on a Murderous Rampage • The Quarantine Games	May 3, 2020 	
1 	Deathbed Confessions • The Quarantine Games 	May 10, 2020 	
===Spooky small talk===
Spooky Small Talk is an interview show hosted by Bergara where he interviews guests while going through a haunted house. He asks them questions about their life and career so far as they navigate through the twists, turns, and jump-scares of the haunted house venue of the episode. There are two segments inside the haunted house called "Fear and Flourish" and "Career Crush". In the first segment "Fear and Flourish", Bergara asks his guest about a time in their life when they were presented with a problem or obstacle that made them doubtful or scared but they persevered and succeeded despite that obstacle. In the second segment "Career Crush", Bergara asks his guest about the career of any person whom the guest admires and inspires them. 
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Guest 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Ryan Interviews Zach Kornfeld in a Haunted House • Spooky Small Talk 	Zach Kornfeld 	January 16, 2020	
1 	Ryan Interviews SAYMYNAME in a Haunted House • Spooky Small Talk 	SAYMYNAME 	March 6, 2020 	
1 	Ryan Interviews Shane in a Haunted House • Spooky Small Talk 	Shane Madej 	April 17, 2020 	
1 	Ryan Interviews Marielle Scott in a Haunted House • Spooky Small Talk	Marielle Scott	May 29, 2020 	
===Top 5 beatdown===
Top 5 Beatdown is hosted by Bergara and Madej, where they compare lists with a guest on various — seemingly asinine — topics and debate about them.
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Guest 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Michelin Star Chef Ranks Top 5 Fast Food Chains • Top 5 Beatdown	Jon Yao 	February 6, 2020	
1 	Food Critic Ranks Top 5 Chips • Top 5 Beatdown 	Steven Lim 	March 26, 2020 	
1 	Film Critic Ranks Top 5 Pixar Films • Top 5 Beatdown 	Hoai-Tran Bui	May 8, 2020 	
===Tourist trapped===
Tourist Trapped is a travel show hosted by Bergara and Madej where they compete and experience a city's tourist attractions and hidden gems, with Bergara introducing the former and Madej introducing the latter. There is currently only one episode of Tourist Trapped filmed due to budget restraints.
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Los Angeles: Tourist Attractions Vs. Hidden Gems • Tourist Trapped	February 21, 2020	
===Watcher weekly===
Watcher Weekly is a weekly talk show hosted by Bergara, Madej and Lim. The three answer fan-submitted questions and chat about the week's channel contents, with the occasional musical guest. The show is usually filmed in their office, but have been moved to be filmed from their own homes from Watcher Weekly #012 onwards due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
List of Episodes
Title 	Release Date 	Source
Introducing Our Weekly Talk Show • Watcher Weekly #001 	January 10, 2020 	
Puppet History Q+A (ft. Musical Guest - Chrys Ryan) • Watcher Weekly #002 	January 15, 2020 	
Spooky Small Talk Q+A • Watcher Weekly #003 	January 22, 2020 	
Weird Wonderful World Q+A • Watcher Weekly #004 	January 29, 2020 	
Homemade Q+A (ft. Musical Guest - AJ Rafael) • Watcher Weekly #005 	February 5, 2020 	
Top 5 Beatdown Q+A • Watcher Weekly #006 	February 12, 2020	
Grocery Run Q+A • Watcher Weekly #007 	February 20, 2020	
Tourist Trapped Q+A • Watcher Weekly #008 	February 26, 2020	
Steven Flawlessly Imitates Ryan • Watcher Weekly #009 	March 4, 2020 	
The Return of BuzzFeed Unsolved & Ryan is Sick • Watcher Weekly #010 	March 11, 2020 	
Last Day in the Office & S.W.A.T. • Watcher Weekly #011 	March 18, 2020 	
Our First Quarantine Show! (Welcome to Our Homes) • Watcher Weekly #012 	March 25, 2020 	
Big Announcement & Cat Food Taste Test (#QuarantineLife) • Watcher Weekly #013	April 1, 2020 	
Who's Most Likely To... • Watcher Weekly #014 	April 8, 2020 	
Pants Off Challenge & Shane Goes Missing • Watcher Weekly #015 	April 15, 2020 	
We React To Fan Videos • Watcher Weekly #016 	April 22, 2020 	
We Spent $5000 In 24 Hours On Local Restaurants • Watcher Weekly #017 	April 29, 2020 	
We Guess Our Horoscope Personalities • Watcher Weekly #018 	May 6, 2020 	
Is It Okay To Pee In The Shower? • Watcher Weekly #019 	May 13, 2020 	
We DIY’d a Graduation for 169 Students • Watcher Weekly #020 	May 21, 2020 	
Puppet History Theater Tour! • Watcher Weekly #021 	May 28, 2020 	
===Weird and/or wonderful world===
Weird and/or Wonderful World (also known as Weird and/or Wonderful World with Shane (and Ryan)) is a show hosted by Madej and co-hosted by Bergara. The duo explores interesting but lesser-known destinations. 
List of Episodes
Season	Title 	Release Date 	Source
1 	Shane & Ryan Perform A Séance At The Mystic Museum • Weird Wonderful World	January 23, 2020	
1 	Shane & Ryan Eat Too Much Pie At The Pie Hole • Weird Wonderful World 	March 12, 2020 	
1 	Shane & Ryan Ham It Up At A Shakespeare Theatre • Weird Wonderful World 	April 24, 2020 	
== Podcasts ==
Watcher Entertainment currently has two podcasts, Hidden Narratives and Here's What You Do.
=== Hidden narratives ===
Hidden Narratives is a podcast hosted by Lim where he interviews Asian Americans on how they were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The first episode is available on their main YouTube channel in audio form, with the following episodes available on other platforms such as Spotify and Anchor. 
List of Episodes
Title 	Guest 	Release Date 	Source
How Coronavirus Shut Down A Restaurant in 24 Hours 	Deuki Hong 	March 24, 2020	
Why This NYC Restaurant Is Staying Open In A Pandemic 	Jimmy Ly 	March 31, 2020	
FBI Warns Asian Americans Of Racist Outbreaks Due To Coronavirus 	Benny Luo 	April 7, 2020 	
On Andrew Yang and how proving our "American-ness" won't end racism	Taylor Weik	April 14, 2020	
Why American Healthcare Workers Aren’t Safe From The Pandemic 	Shuhan He 	April 21, 2020	
Should Churches Gather During a Pandemic? 	Drew Hyun 	April 28, 2020	
=== Here's what you do ===
Here's What You Do is an advice podcast featuring Bergara, Lim and Madej where they give advice from their three different viewpoints to fans who have submitted questions. Lim acts as an optimist, Bergara as a pessimist and Madej as a nihilist. The podcast is on most streaming platforms such as Spotify and Anchor, and is also available in video format on the Watcher Podcasts YouTube channel from Episode 5 onwards due to increasing fan requests to include a video format of the podcast. 
List of Episodes
Title 	Release Date 	Source
Dating During A Pandemic 	April 23, 2020	
Dealing With Annoying Co-Workers 	April 28, 2020	
Flirting and Recognizing Signals 	May 5, 2020 	
Dealing With The Lack Of Human Interaction 	May 13, 2020 	
Breaking Up With Friends 	May 19, 2020 	
Knowing When To Say I Love You 	May 26, 2020 	
Writing The Perfect Email Signature • Here's What You Do	June 1, 2020 	
==In the media==
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== References ==
==External links==
* Watcher twitter page
* Watcher instagram page
* watcher on patreon
* Watcher Podcasts youtube channel
* Watcher youtube channel
* Ex-BuzzFeed Video Staffers Launch Watcher Entertainment Digital Studio (EXCLUSIVE)
* WATCHER ENTERTAINMENT – Giant Hugs
* Watcher Entertainment Launching January 2020 With Former Buzzfeed Talent At The Helm
* Watcher Entertainment – The New Network to Keep Your Eye On
* Three Of BuzzFeed's Biggest Video Stars Launch Indie Studio 
* Steven Lim Co-Founder at Watcher Entertainment on linkedin
Category:Video production companies
Category:Visual effects companies
Category:Companies established in 2019
Category:Companies based in Los Angeles
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