John Krasinski Defends 'Some Good News' Sellout
by EG
The charm of John Krasinski's Some Good News web show was that it was (or appeared to be) a sincere DIY effort to help out during the pandemic. That all changed when Krasinski sold the show to ViacomCBS after a "bidding war" between media companies. Fans accused Krasinski of selling out and undermining the very premise of the show. This week, he defended himself, saying that he had to either stop doing the show or sell it for big bucks. It remains to be seen whether fans think he made the right choice. Read on for details.
John Krasinski recently broke his silence and clarified the reasons he sold his fledging feel-good web series Some Good News to ViacomCBS, a move which resulted in a backlash on social media and accusations of selling out.
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that ViacomCBS had won the rights to SGN after a "massive bidding war" with CBS All Access having the first window for new episodes before they move to a number of the company's linear networks. Under the "rich deal," Krasinski will continue to be involved as an executive producer, but he will not host all the new episodes.
The social media backlash when the deal news broke was swift and was given further fuel when it was announced that CBS News was laying off up to 50 staffers.
Saved the best for last! Episode 8 of @somegoodnews has to be my favorite because it celebrates the truth of what this show has always been. Never mine,always yours! There IS and ALWAYS WILL BE...good in the world! Thank you all! So long but not farewell! https://t.co/mEylhsDvic
— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) May 18, 2020
On Tuesday, speaking to his former Office co-star Rainn Wilson on his Instragram Live show Hey There, Human, Krasinski explained that SGN was never meant to be a long-term thing, especially with all his other acting, writing and directing commitments. "I was only planning on doing [eight episodes] during quarantine. I have these other things that I’m going to be having to do very soon, like Jack Ryan," he said.
Added Krasinski: "More than that, writing, directing and producing — all those things — with a couple of my friends was so much, and I knew it wouldn’t be sustainable with my prior commitments."
Wow who can believe when we started this thing together we all just wanted good news to be more fully represented in our everyday lives. And now? You quite literally ARE the good news! Thanks to you, SGN lives on, joining the ranks of this historic news network! See you all soon! https://t.co/gB3CSBHwjv
— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) May 22, 2020
"I knew the two options were always going to be, I leave it off at eight in my office, which I would love to keep doing this show from my office forever, but it just wasn’t sustainable," he explained to Wilson. "I knew I would need a partner coming on."
Krasinski told Wilson that it was "insane" having "one of the biggest news programs in America, CBS News, saying they want to make it part of their permanent news cycle." He added that he had "a lot of really fun stuff planned" for the series and will be involved as much as he can be.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
Do you think John should have sold SGN to the highest bidder? Let us know in the comments below.