The Carlos Watson Show is an American talk show produced by Ozy Media, and aired on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.[1][2] It initially aired one-hundred and nineteen episodes between August 2, 2020 and February 18, 2021 as a self-made show on YouTube,[3] and featured well-known guests like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci.[4][5] It was shortly shut down, then came back for a third season of an additional forty-three episodes on Amazon Prime from May 22, 2021 to July 21, 2021.[6][7][2]
An accompanying podcast version of the show is also available, featuring longer, unedited versions of each conversation.[8] The show ended when a large controversy surrounding fraud and host and executive producer Carlos Watson and producer Samir Rao precluded any new episodes. Watson was sentenced to one-hundred and sixteen months (almost ten year) in prison.[5][9][10]
Format
Conversations between host Carlos Watson as host and the guest take place entirely over Zoom, on account of the show launching during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] It was taped in Mountain View, California.[12] The interviews are longer and more personal than typical talk show appearances, with a single guest discussing their journey to success and their take on current affairs over the course of a single 15-to-30-minute episode. The show weaves in archive footage and small tape packages about the episode's guests, acting as a deeper guest profile than the typical talk show appearance.[13] Each episode typically ends with a "Rapid Fire" segment. The show has also broadcast two live specials: one on the evening of January 6, 2021 after the storming of the U.S. Capitol,[14] and the second to mark the inauguration of President Joe Biden.[15]
Some exclusives The Carlos Watson Show reported on have been: learning H.E.R. used to be in a band with Kehlani and Zendaya,[16]David Oyelowo saying he became a born-again Christian at sixteen and how that choice affected who he later became engaged to, and Matt Damon commenting on Jennifer Lopez's relations with Ben Affleck, saying "Oh man, no one's pulling harder than I am... They're both great. I just want for their happiness. They seem pretty happy right now."[17]
Development
Watson said he was make a show that "meets the current moment with a strong enough combination of insightful conversation, flavorful and diverse guests, plus a bit of levity and entertainment.”[13]
Marketing
The marketing campaign for The Carlos Watson Show included billboards and posters in Los Angeles New York with quotes with misleading attributions.[18][19] An executive producer said the marketing was aimed at potential investors and executives in television and advertising, rather than general viewers.[18]
The show did book several sponsors including Chevrolet, JPMorgan Chase, and Discover. GroupM signed a two-year preferred partnership to further the agency’s DEI efforts. Dentsu made a three-year deal as part of its investment in “meaningful media.”[20]
Reception
Audience viewership
The show has received over 50 million views, and the Carlos Watson Show YouTube channel has received over 70,000 subscribers as of March 2021.[21] However, during the controversy, The New York Times spoke to an expert who said the numbers may have been artificially boosted.[18]
Critical response
Essence described the show as featuring "energetic and informative conversations with some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and politics".[22] People Now described the show as featuring "long-form, wide-ranging interviews with even wider-ranging celebrities".[23]Good Morning America announced the show as "the fastest-growing talk show in YouTube history," but the New York Times later called those claims dubious.[24]
The New York Times’s media critic has noted multiple examples of misleading or unverifiable marketing associated with Ozy Media, such as advertisements claiming that The Carlos Watson Show was the “first talk show” on Amazon Prime Video, a claim that Ozy withdrew after Amazon complained that it violated its promotion guidelines.[25]
Mr. Watson and Ozy’s chief operating officer, Samir Rao, told the show's staff and the guests that the show would appear in prime time on A&E, but the executive producer became suspicious when they had no contact with A&E executives during the making of the show. One of the other producers pointed out that A&E had already scheduled Hoarders for the time slot that was supposedly meant for The Carlos Watson Show. Executive Producer Brad Bessey was willing to “suspend my disbelief,” partly because of the difficulties of running a show under the restrictions related to the pandemic and partly because he “was so hopeful for that social justice conversation.”[18]
When Bessey got in touch with an A&E executive, he learned there was no plan to air the program on A&E, at which point Bessey resigned, saying “You are playing a dangerous game with the truth. The consequences of offering an A&E show to guests when we don’t have one to offer are catastrophic for Ozy and for me.” When Bessey told the staff he resigning, Watson told everyone on the call that The Carlos Watson Show would actually eventually air on A&E, and things were just in progress and until the time it would air on A&E Watson stated show would air as a YouTube Original. However, it was later revealed that Watson had not sold the show to YouTube Originals and instead would be uploading it as a normal YouTube video as anyone could do. Additionally, the show never aired on A&E.[18]
"Some of the videos on The Carlos Watson Show YouTube channel have received fewer than 100 views, while others have hundreds of thousands or more than a million views. Those figures, and the small number of comments on most videos, 'may indicate paid boosting,' according to an analysis by Tubular Labs, a company that tracks audiences for online videos."[18]
Watson was eventually tried for fraud as more information came to light. Among other things, there was proof that an Ozy executive had posed as a YouTube executive, telling potential funders that The Carlos Watson show had an order from YouTube Originals, when they did not have a deal with YouTube). This impersonation was used to get more funding from Goldman Sachs, among others, under false pretenses.[20][9]
Episodes
Season One (August 2020 – November 2020)
Season one of The Carlos Watson Show premiered on July 5, 2016, uploaded to YouTube.[26][27]
No. in series
No. in season
Title
Original air date
1
1
"Karen Bass: The Next Speaker of the House?"
August2,2020(2020-08-02)
2
2
"Will Terry Crews Apologize for *Those* Tweets?"
August3,2020(2020-08-03)
3
3
"Will Andrew Yang Be Secretary of Commerce in Joe Biden's Cabinet?"
August5,2020(2020-08-05)
4
4
"How Sean Spicer Really Feels About BLM, Trump + 2020"
August6,2020(2020-08-06)
5
5
"Malcolm Gladwell's Surprising Solutions for Racial Harmony"
August10,2020(2020-08-10)
6
6
"David Oyelowo: Are Nigerian-Brits Taking Over the World?"
August11,2020(2020-08-11)
7
7
"Maggie Siff: Meet the Next Meryl Streep"
August12,2020(2020-08-12)
8
8
"Meet Tina Knowles-Lawson: The Queen-Maker Behind Beyoncé"
August13,2020(2020-08-13)
9
9
"Baker Mayfield: The Beauty of "Locker Room Talk""
August14,2020(2020-08-14)
10
10
"Meet the Democrats' Black Female Power Brokers"
August17,2020(2020-08-17)
11
11
"Why George Lopez Pissed Off the Secret Service"
August18,2020(2020-08-18)
12
12
"How Queer Eye's Karamo Went from Crazy to Compassionate"
August19,2020(2020-08-19)
13
13
"Could Grant Hill Have Been Better Than Michael Jordan?"
August20,2020(2020-08-20)
14
14
"Jamaal Bowman: Is He the Next AOC?"
August24,2020(2020-08-24)
15
15
"Hot Takes on the Future Economy from CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin"
August26,2020(2020-08-26)
16
16
"Roxane Gay Is Still Fighting. Are You?"
August27,2020(2020-08-27)
17
17
"The Real Legend Behind John + Chrissy"
August28,2020(2020-08-28)
18
18
"Tomi Lahren: America Isn't as Racist as You Think"
August31,2020(2020-08-31)
19
19
"Beto O'Rourke: Should Trump Be Prosecuted When He Leaves Office?"
August18,2020(2020-08-18)
20
20
"Bethenny Frankel: The Reality Star Who Sold Her Company for $100M"
September1,2020(2020-09-01)
21
21
"Why Business Mogul Tan France Tried to Quit Queer Eye"
September2,2020(2020-09-02)
22
22
"After Playing 14 Characters at Once, Who Is the Real Tatiana Maslany?"
September3,2020(2020-09-03)
23
23
"If Jeb Were President: Racial Reconciliation + UBI?"
September4,2020(2020-09-04)
24
24
"Pete Buttigieg Fears Democracy is Crumbling. Here's Why"
September8,2020(2020-09-08)
25
25
"How Avoiding Spankings Turned Tichina Arnold Into a Comedy Queen"
September10,2020(2020-09-10)
26
26
"Will Terry Crews Apologize for *Those* Tweets?"
August3,2020(2020-08-03)
27
27
"Why Anita Hill Still Believes in the Supreme Court"
September14,2020(2020-09-14)
28
28
"Gabrielle Union Wants to Defund the Police ... in L.A.'s Finest"
September15,2020(2020-09-15)
29
29
"Top Chef's Tom Colicchio Talks ADHD, COVID, Drugs and Bourdain"
September16,2020(2020-09-16)
30
30
"Can Charles Booker Inherit John Lewis' Legacy?"
September17,2020(2020-09-17)
31
31
"Can Rising Star Comedian Aida Rodriguez Bring Americans Together?"
September2020,2020(2020-21-2020)
32
32
"Has Cory Booker's Love Affair Changed His Politics?"
September22,2020(2020-09-22)
33
33
"Padma Lakshmi Talks Power, Politics and Sex"
September23,2020(2020-09-23)
34
34
"Meet One of the Most Powerful Men in Media: Ben Smith"
September24,2020(2020-09-24)
35
35
"Adam Grant: How to Get Through the Pandemic with Good Energy"
September25,2020(2020-09-25)
36
36
"Meet the World's Most Powerful Female Investor: Afsaneh Beschloss"
September28,2020(2020-09-28)
37
37
"The Meaning of Life, With 'Good Place' Star William Jackson Harper"
September29,2020(2020-09-29)
38
38
"Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo Talks Ending 'Lawful But Awful' Policing"
September30,2020(2020-09-30)
39
39
"Ilhan Omar: Meet the Fighter Behind the Caricature"
October1,2020(2020-10-01)
40
40
"Gloria Steinem: What History Gets Wrong About Feminism"
October2,2020(2020-10-02)
41
41
"'Fame' Star Debbie Allen Talks COVID, BLM and Kobe"
October5,2020(2020-10-05)
42
42
"Meet Hollywood's Next Breakthrough Director - Oge Egbuonu"
October6,2020(2020-10-06)
43
43
"Can Simon Sinek Help Make Work Suck Less?"
October8,2020(2020-10-08)
44
44
"Susan Rice on What Trump Got Right - and Very, Very Wrong"
October8,2020(2020-10-08)
45
45
"How Al Sharpton Keeps Grieving Families Out of the Spotlight"
October9,2020(2020-10-09)
46
46
"Caitlyn Jenner: Why I Failed to Make an Impact in Trans Community"
October12,2020(2020-10-12)
47
47
"Netflix's New Star Filmmaker Will Make You Care About Gentrification"
October13,2020(2020-10-13)
48
48
"Chelsea Handler is a Liberal Elite, and Knows It"
October14,2020(2020-10-14)
49
49
"Lenny Kravitz on How to Stay Close with Your Ex"
October16,2020(2020-10-16)
50
50
"20 Celebrities Weigh in on the 2020 Dumpster Fire"
October16,2020(2020-10-16)
51
51
"Isabel Sandoval: Meet the Trans Filmmaker Who Came Out to Herself on Camera"
October19,2020(2020-10-19)
52
52
"Why Is Jeff Flake Optimistic About the Election?"
October20,2020(2020-10-20)
53
53
"Meet Finneas: Billie Eilish's Brother and the Brains Behind Today's Biggest Pop Hits"
October21,2020(2020-10-21)
54
54
"Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Activism Is in My Blood"
October22,2020(2020-10-22)
55
55
"Why Billionaire Mark Cuban Always Got Fired When Working for Others"
October23,2020(2020-10-23)
56
56
"Dear White People's Justin Simien on Blackness, Queerness and Greatness"
October26,2020(2020-10-26)
57
57
"Jalen Rose's Recipe for Greatness: Be a Little Crazy"
October27,2020(2020-10-27)
58
58
"Meet ESPN's Unlikely Rising Star Football Guru: Mina Kimes"
October28,2020(2020-10-28)
59
59
"How These Celebrities Learned to Dream Fearlessly"
October29,2020(2020-10-29)
60
60
"Ava DuVernay: "Justice and Storytelling Go Hand in Hand""
October30,2020(2020-10-30)
61
61
"Why These Theater Legends Want You to Get Out the Vote"
October30,2020(2020-10-30)
62
62
"How Christy Turlington Burns Became a Model Activist"
November11,2020(2020-11-11)
63
63
"The Secret to Greatness in Sports? Intelligence, Says ESPN's Mike Greenberg"
November13,2020(2020-11-13)
64
64
"Jameela Jamil on the Good That's Come from the Pandemic"
November20,2020(2020-11-20)
Season Two (November 2020 – February 2021)
Season two of The Carlos Watson Show premiered on July November 23, 2020, uploaded to YouTube.[27]
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