“Some Good News” shines light on positivity in the midst of a global pandemic

By RYAN GORHAM

Staff Writer

In the midst of this pandemic, you turn on the news and all you see is death, disease and despair. If you look at that and hope for something uplifting to be featured, it sounds like you need some good news.

“Some Good News” is a YouTube channel created and hosted by John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert in “The Office” and directed and starred in the 2018 movie, “A Quiet Place.”

Since its creation on March 25, SGN has gained over 1.6 million subscribers, with the channel having a total of 27 million views. One might think that the popularity is due to Krasinski’s status as a celebrity attracting a crowd, but once you start watching the series, it’s easy to see why it is so popular.

Each episode starts off with an introduction that mirrors more popular news channels, albeit with a lower budget, a globe spins into frame as a sign featuring the channel’s name comes into view. Krasinski introduces himself and does a little opening monologue where he talks about fan responses to the show and the stories people have submitted to him on Twitter.

Episode one starts with Krasinski celebrating the people who work in the medical field by showing clips of hospital workers being appreciated by their local community. After that, a couple other stories are quickly shown, a grandpa meeting his grandson for the first time through a window, a couple who put on their old wedding outfits and started doing things around the house, and a woman putting hand sanitizer and toilet paper out for her delivery driver.

But most of the episode was focused on Krasinski interviewing Steve Carell, fellow actor on “The Office,” about his experience with the show on its fifteenth anniversary and naming some of his favorite moments creating “The Office.”

For people who are familiar with the show, it will be a fun time watching two of Dunder Mifflin’s finest talk to each other again. If you haven’t watched the show before, you might not find this moment as satisfying, but their conversation is still funny and will make you laugh. Their conversation is so heartwarming, it made me tear up a little. You can tell they are great friends who have known each other for many years.

The first episode ends with Krasinski interviewing Coco, a 15-year-old girl whose friends and family recently threw a party celebrating her last treatment of chemotherapy. He introduces her by saying “This is such an exciting honor for me, you are my newest and biggest hero.” They talk about the parade her friends threw for her. Coco talks about her experience going through chemotherapy and expresses her feelings about why people should stay home to protect the lives of people who have weaker immune systems.

Overall, “Some Good News” is an uplifting experience that reminds us that, although times look bleak and we are cut off from each other for now, there are still good people doing good things in the world. Krasinski’s happy attitude and jokes create a warm atmosphere that spreads to the guests he interviews. Although the video was only about 15 minutes, it felt like it lasted long enough to be satisfying.

Although there is no guarantee that SGN will continue week to week, three episodes have been created so far and Krasinski promises to make more episodes if there is enough support.

You can watch“Some Good News,” on YouTube or follow them on Twitter @somegoodnews. I look forward to watching new episodes when they come out and encourage anyone who has 15 minutes to spare to watch because, to quote John Krasinski’s sign-off, “No matter how tough life can get, there’s always good in the world.”