The Carlos Watson Show is an American talk and interview series hosted by journalist and entrepreneur Carlos Watson. The program premiered in 2020 and features long-form conversations with political leaders, business innovators, authors, actors, musicians, athletes, and emerging cultural figures.[1][2]
The series was executive-produced by Watson and OZY Media, with episodes filmed remotely and in studios in California and New York.[3]Deadline reported that the show was developed using a pandemic-era digital production workflow that allowed for remote interviews and rapid episode turnaround.[4] The show initially aired 119 episodes on YouTube from August 2, 2020, to February 18, 2021, and featured interviews with prominent figures from politics, science, and business.[5]
An accompanying podcast version of the show is also available, featuring longer, unedited versions of each conversation.[6] 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.[7][8][9]
After a brief shutdown, it returned for a third season of 43 episodes on Amazon Prime from May 22, 2021, to July 21, 2021.[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]
Guests
The program featured guests from politics, business, entertainment, sports, and culture. Public officials and political figures interviewed on the show included U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, former U.S. Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Mike Pompeo, former National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, and members of Congress such as Ilhan Omar and Hakeem Jeffries.[18]
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 and New York that featured quotes with misleading attributions.[20][21] An executive producer said the marketing was aimed primarily at potential investors and executives in television and advertising, rather than general audiences.[20]
In addition to promotional efforts, the show was supported through brand partnerships arranged by OZY Media. Reported sponsors and partners included companies such as Coca-Cola, Target, Walmart, AT&T, Spotify, Chevrolet, JPMorgan Chase, and Discover. GroupM signed a two-year preferred partnership, and Dentsu entered into a multi-year agreement as part of its investment in what it described as “meaningful media.”[22]
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.[23] However, during the controversy, The New York Times spoke to an expert who said the numbers may have been artificially boosted.[20]
Critical response
Essence described the show as featuring "energetic and informative conversations with some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and politics".[24] People Now described the show as featuring "long-form, wide-ranging interviews with even wider-ranging celebrities".[25]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.[26]
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.[27]
During production of The Carlos Watson Show, Watson and OZY Media chief operating officer Samir Rao told staff and prospective guests that the program would air in prime time on A&E. Executive producer Brad Bessey later became concerned after noting the absence of communication with A&E executives and learning that the proposed time slot was already scheduled for another program.[20]
After contacting an A&E executive directly, Bessey was informed that there were no plans to broadcast the show on the network. He subsequently resigned, citing concerns about misrepresentations made to staff and guests. Watson later told staff that the show would eventually air on A&E and that, in the interim, it would be released as a YouTube Original. It was later reported that no agreement existed with YouTube Originals and that episodes were instead uploaded as standard YouTube videos. The show ultimately never aired on A&E.[20]
An analysis by Tubular Labs reported wide discrepancies in viewership across episodes, with some videos receiving fewer than 100 views while others accumulated hundreds of thousands or more than one million views. The report noted that these patterns, combined with limited audience engagement, could indicate paid view boosting.[20]
As additional information emerged, Watson was later tried for fraud related to OZY Media’s fundraising practices. Evidence presented at trial included instances in which an OZY executive impersonated a YouTube executive and falsely claimed that The Carlos Watson Show had been ordered by YouTube Originals. According to court filings, these representations were used to solicit funding from investors, including Goldman Sachs, under false pretenses.[22][8]
Episodes
Season one (August 2020 – November 2020)
Season one of The Carlos Watson Show premiered on July 5, 2016, uploaded to YouTube.[28][29]
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Original release 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?"
September21,2020(2020-09-21)
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.[29]
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