Shane Madej | |
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Born | Shane Alexander Madej May 16, 1986 Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S. |
Education | Columbia College Chicago |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2014–present |
Known for |
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Spouse | Sara Rubin (m. 2023) |
Shane Alexander Madej (born May 16, 1986) is an American Internet personality, paranormal investigator, and co-founder of digital entertainment company, Watcher Entertainment. Madej rose to prominence for co-starring in the YouTube true crime and supernatural series BuzzFeed Unsolved .
Madej was born on May 16, 1986, in Schaumburg, Illinois to Mark and Sherry Madej. He has one brother, Scott. [1]
He went to Northern Illinois University for two years before attending Columbia College Chicago for editing. [2] [3] Following his graduation, Madej worked several jobs including producing corporate videos, working in public-access television and at Starbucks. [4]
Madej joined BuzzFeed as an intern before later joining the unscripted team. [4] In December 2016, Madej took over as the co-host in BuzzFeed Unsolved with Ryan Bergara. He made his first appearance in the episode "The Secret Society Of The Illuminati". The show was split into two separate series, Unsolved: True Crime and Unsolved: Supernatural. The former featured Bergara presenting unsolved true crime cases to Madej and presenting possible theories, [5] [6] while Supernatural consisted of the pair investigating reportedly haunted locations and attempting to elicit responses for paranormal proof. The show became one of Buzzfeed's most successful series, generating over a billion video views and 16.6 billion minutes of total watch time. [7]
Madej left BuzzFeed as a full-time employee in 2019. In 2020, he and Bergara signed a contract to finish the final seasons of Unsolved, which ended in 2021. [8]
In 2019, Madej co-founded a digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with fellow ex-Buzzfeed employees, Bergara and Steven Lim. [9] [10] The trio served as co-CEOs until 2023, when both Madej and Bergara stepped down to focus on the creation of content. [11]
The channel hosts are a variety of shows starring Madej, Bergara, and Lim, spanning cooking, mystery, gaming, and horror. [9] Included is Unsolved's successors – Mystery Files and Ghost Files – which have both proved successful. [12]
Madej is the creator of the web series, Puppet History . [8] The series consists of Madej starring as The Professor, a puppet, quizzing Bergara and a special guest on peculiar historical events and people. [13]
In 2023, Madej and Bergara went on a national tour to premiere the second season of Ghost Files. [14] [15]
In September 2023, Madej married his longtime girlfriend, Sara Rubin. [16]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2020 | Beautiful Day | Male Hiker | Short Film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2020 | S.W.A.T. | Ira | Episode: "Gunpowder Treason" |