Some thoughts on Steven's new show, and the hate that's been directed at him lately
spoiler alert: the tl;dr is that people's assumptions about the new food show being expensive meals aren't in the trailer and I'm happily subscribed to Watcher TV now!
One of the most awful things about this announcement has been seeing people attacking Steven specifically, and making a lot of assumptions about him. I (probably unwisely) spent a couple hours in the yt comment section and found things like this:
And then I saw this tumblr comment that do a wtf face irl:
Keith's new eating show is at Michelin star restaurants... to call that relatable and Steven not? Honey, that's either racism or some implicit bias you need to examine (I watch some TG content, it's fine to like Keith, but damn this take isn't it y'all)
But my main point is: No one said Steven and Andrew are going to be having expensive meals on the new show.
(yeah, remember Andrew is on the show too? but all hate is directed at Steven? isn't that interesting...)
That was Buzzfeed. This is Watcher. They aren't going to repeat themselves. Also, Worth It was about showing food across ALL price points, especially in later seasons once they had a more stable platform at BF. It was about giving chefs across cultures (especially Asian communities) a voice.
I re-watched the teaser for Travel Season, and I also signed up for Watcher TV (it was about $3.50/month with the annual discount promo) and I watched the full trailer for Travel Season. Guess what wasn't mentioned? Food at expensive price points.
Travel Season is going to be six episodes per season, all in one location, focusing on food and experiences that place has to offer. This is more economical from a production standpoint, because the team can travel to a location and shoot episodes in a batch. Similar to how they can get four episodes of TMS filmed in one night. Sounds like they are approaching Travel Season in a smart and efficient way.
stills from the trailer on WatcherTV.com
Sure, maybe they'll try some higher priced dishes at some point, but Travel Season is about culture and food - not about clickbait titles for Buzzfeed where they need to have $1,000 ice cream. If you've seen the food content Steven's made at Watcher (Homemade, Grocery Run, Eat Like Me) you know he cares about highlighting the connections between people and food, to share cultures and ideas with the viewers.
I am supporting Watcher's new endeavor, and hope they can make it work for more of their audience over time. Some people choose to pay $4.99/month for a Twitch sub to support one creator - which is their right. I am spending $5.99/month (but actually much cheaper for this first year) to support an entire company. If this works, Watcher could bring on other creators, as they've wanted to all along, and hopefully usher in an era of entertainment from a diverse group of independent creators.
Yes, Steven Lim took on the role of CEO of Watcher Entertainment recently, but the other founders still have an active role in the company. Like it or not, they all had a vote in making the switch to a streaming service. Singling out Steven in comments like those above isn't a good look for anyone.
You know what we're not gonna do? Put shane and ryan on a pedestal and using this issue as an excuse to hate on steven
this is a company thing. i hate it too but once again steven is being blamed for this because some fans refuse to see than ryan and shane also gets a say in business matters, theyre co-founders, they work WITH steven
How it started vs how it's going. Forever grateful for Unsolved for shaping me into the person I am today. Never thought I would go from being a high schooler with a BuzzFeed Unsolved fan account to Shane's and Ryan's employee.
Feel free to subscribe the guys at youtube.com/watcher. As someone who came from fandom spaces to this company, I can tell you that Shane and Ryan are the most genuine people I've ever met (and that goes for Steven, Katie & the rest of the Watcher crew!). And I am incredibly proud of what they built over at Watcher Entertainment. (Also follow @wearewatcher on all socials because it's my responsibility to run those accounts ☺️)
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