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Existential Binge-Watching: Buzzfeed Unsolved is ending, but the Ghoul Boys are still around

Buzzfeed Unsolved is a great series to throw on any time of the year, but spooky season has always felt like the most fitting time to watch a couple episodes of either True Crime or Supernatural. And while fans still have some new episodes this Halloween, after nearly six years and 15 seasons of content with more than one billion views globally and over five million subscribers, both of these flagship YouTube series are coming to an end.

The eighth and final season of True Crime aired this past summer and the six-episode seventh and final season of Supernatural premiered back on October 15. With just the right amount of genuine terror from ghost believer Ryan Bergara and sarcastic skepticism from demon antagonizer Shane Madej, the dynamic duo created mystery-solving and ghost hunting shows that felt unlike anything else that had ever been created before.

The chaotic yet genuine and down-to-Earth feel of the terrifyingly hilarious series made them perfect for a casual pick me up at any moment but also as the quintessential Halloween marathon. While the series coming to an end might sound more frightening than anything ever featured on the shows, there’s no reason for the Shaniacs and Boogaras to panic. Shane and Ryan will still be around doing what they do best, just not on the Buzzfeed Unsolved Network.

Back in 2019, the two founded a new YouTube channel with Steven Lim – who you may also recognize from Buzzfeed as the co-host of Worth It. In an effort to focus their time and energy on new independent productions in which they have full ownership and creative freedom of what they’re making, the trio officially launched Watcher in January of 2020.

Still based out of Los Angeles, the three have been putting out a multitude of shows on this new network that span everything from food to travel to horror. Everything is true to what they’ve been known for over at Buzzfeed, just done in different and interesting ways. For instance, Steven has hosted shows such as “Dish Granted,” in which he creates extravagant meals for guests, or “Homemade,” where he compares the experiences of fancy restaurant dishes to home-cooked meals.

As another example, Shane created a show over on Buzzfeed known as Ruining History, where he looked at various bizarre and shocking events in history. On “Watcher,” though, that passion and idea transferred over to the immaculately well done Puppet History. “Hosted” by Shane through puppets like The Professor, the series goes over the story of different historical events while two guests - one often being the very distressed Ryan - compete for the title of history master and a small trophy-filled with jelly beans. Viewers also get to see Shane show off his musical prowess, making it a truly hectic but wonderfully produced must-watch.

Of course, there’s a huge amount of scary content to boot. One of the first in their original slate of shows was “Spooky Small Talk,” where Ryan interviewed celebrities while walking through a haunted house. There’s also “Too Many Spirits,” which involves Ryan and Shane reading and rating viewer-submitted ghost stories while getting more and more drunk off of cocktails made by Steven. It’s as fun as it sounds.

Even currently, Watcher is airing episodes of the fourth season of “Are You Scared?” On it, Ryan reads the internet’s scariest stories to Shane, while the two sort through and decide which ones were actually experienced and which ones were completely made up.

This is all to say, our beloved Ghoul Boys aren’t going away anytime soon. The “Buzzfeed Unsolved” shows have come and are coming to an end, but it should be looked at more like the end of a chapter than the whole story. So, definitely enjoy the final episodes of Supernatural but also be sure to head over to Watcher if you haven’t already. It’s got even more fantastically spooky and not-so spooky content that will certainly be around next Halloween and for many years after.

Jackson Horvat is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Jackson by tweeting him at @horvatjackson.

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