In case you missed the “good” news last week, Some Good News, the feel-good, hope-inspiring YouTube show John Krasinski put together in his home office to lift people’s spirits during the quarantine was sold for BIG BUCKS.
Yes, after what was called a “massive bidding war” the A Quiet Place star sold the premise — of sharing cute stories in a news anchor voice and surprising viewers with celebrity guest appearances — to ViacomCBS for a huge sum.
Unsurprisingly that business move brought with it a LOT of criticism from those who saw it as a very cynical move, cashing in on something which had gained so much popularity specifically because it seemed to be from the heart.
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Well, during a conversation with his The Office co-star Rainn Wilson on Tuesday, Krasinski got to sort of address the backlash by discussing his motivation for selling the immediately beloved 2-month-old show.
On an episode of Wilson’s Hey There, Human show on Instagram Live, the artist once known as Jim Halpert gushed about the reaction to his little project:
“I’ve received the most amazingly kind notes about how much that show meant to everyone. That’s probably the most emotionally fulfilled I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
So then… why sell it? Why let it become just another draw for CBS All Access instead of a labor of love? He explained:
“It was one of those things where I was only planning on doing eight of them 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. More than that, the writing, directing, and producing, all those things, with a couple of my friends was so much. I knew it wouldn’t be sustainable with my prior commitments.”
In addition to eventually getting back to Jack Ryan, whenever it’s safe for productions to start back up, he also has to finish post-production on A Quiet Place Part II, which was delayed but is back on the schedule to hit theaters on September 4… assuming theaters are open by that time.
So clearly Krasinski would not have been able to do the show himself anymore no matter what — but it could go on in some form if he partnered with a big company which had the resources to find a new writer, director, host, etc.
“I would love to keep doing the show from my office forever… It just wasn’t sustainable.”
But now the show will go on, and far from feeling ashamed for selling the 40-year-old is actually very proud of that fact:
“In eight weeks it went from not existing to now being on one of these huge news networks is one of the greatest honors that I’ve ever been able to pull off.”
He added he wasn’t abandoning the show but instead would still be a part of its evolution despite his busy schedule:
“We have a lot of really fun stuff planned, and I can’t wait to dig in. I’m going to be a part of it whenever I can, and I’m going to host a couple and bring on a different community of people.”
Does this change how YOU feel about the sale of Some Good News? Let us know in the comments and see the whole convo (below)!
[Image via Some Good News/Billboard/YouTube.]
The post John Krasinski Defends Selling <i>Some Good News</i> In Talk With <i>Office</i> Co-Star appeared first on Perez Hilton.