James Dobson Shares an Easter Message of Great Hope: 'Look to the Risen Christ'. It’s wholesome and canny coronavirus counterprogramming—the first episode has been viewed more than 17 million times—that’s also wholesome and canny career management by Krasinski, who, with SGN, is slipping into the role of America’s Quarantine Dad easily, as if it were a pair of slippers. It’s trying to become another such example, sampling others’ uplifting and creative gestures into a remixed megagesture. John Krasinski wants to bring some good news to the world amid all the bad. America, of course, already has a celebrity dad: Tom Hanks, whose very blood is apparently being used to contribute to the commonweal. Also available on most smart TVs and streaming services. They blur together, and you go numb. Krasinski struggled for years to figure out what to do next—his directorial debut was based on a David Foster Wallace book, and he was a runner-up for Captain America—but he slowly steered in a more macho direction, first with a Michael Bay movie and then with Amazon’s Jack Ryan, the sort of meat-and-potatoes American exceptionalist action fare that two-thirds of the extended family at Thanksgiving has seen. Krasinski has well-honed line deliveries that rescue him from the latter category and beach him in the former. He narrates nurses doing dance numbers, a husband crooning to his wife through the window of a nursing home, a man leaving toilet paper on his porch for delivery people to take, cities around the world clapping for essential workers, and a family doing a trick golf shot off the roof of their house. His dark hair and beard growing slightly longer every episode, he introduces viral tweets, photos, and videos with gusto, good spirit, and a jokey cadence that belies his earnestness. Like a good dad, Krasinski is here to make the best out of the worst. It’s never been easier for a celebrity to seem self-important and out of it, but Krasinski has had a lot of practice walking the tightrope between self-effacement and self-aggrandizement, between humility and false humility. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. But it turns out the dad joke is a great métier for male celebrities whose persona doesn’t depend on being cool: a controlled, charming way to let people expel resentment they might otherwise hold onto while making them feel close to you. This week, the 40-year-old actor uploaded the second episode of his lighthearted “Some Good News” show on YouTube. In the first episode, Krasinski talked to fellow “Office” star Steve Carell. Krasinski seems to implicitly understand how this works for a celebrity like him. In collecting all of this in one place, SGN isn’t just providing examples of our ability to inspire, entertain, and distract one another in these trying times. In the first episode, Krasinski talked to fellow “Office” star Steve Carell. | The Jump, Lord Jamar on R Kelly Getting Hit with 11 New Charges: He’s Paying for Past Nuts! The mission of John Krasinski’s quarantine response series is right there in the title: delivering Some Good News at a moment when it is in unprecedentedly short supply. Photo illustration by Slate. He begins each episode by recapping SGN’s popularity, calling attention to copycats and the fan art it’s inspired in tones of self-deprecating astonishment. This week, the 40-year-old actor uploaded the second episode of his lighthearted “Some Good News” show on YouTube. “Because I think I’m a dad first, too.” Krasinski has two children with his wife, Emily Blunt. In retrospect, though, Krasinski was well positioned to deliver this kind of uplift. © 2020 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. There are plenty of no-fun news stories going around about how long this coronavirus shutdown might last and too many heartbreaking articles about lives lost to the infection. Ike talks about growing up in Black Los Angeles during late 1950s and 1960s (pt.2), Mikey Day Returns To Reclaim His OG Title ft. Jack & Jack | Wild ‘N Out | #Wildstyle, Who should the Lakers target in the buyout market? Join Slate Plus to continue reading, and you’ll get unlimited access to all our work—and support Slate’s independent journalism. John Krasinski highlights some good news from around the world, including an interview with Steve Carell to mark the 15thanniversary of THE OFFICE, as well as John’s newest hero Coco. That Hanks might be edging, numerically speaking, into grandfather territory is of little consequence. It’s right there in the title: The amount of good news out there is only some. His enthusiasm—look how big his little show has gotten!—masks the essential self-congratulation. That, after all his efforts, SGN might not actually make you feel better has less to do with Krasinski than with the limitations of the format. The weekly “news program” is formally indebted to “Weekend Update,” but it’s after uplifting smiles, cathartic tears, and warm-fuzzy reassurance instead of laughs. And John Krasinski, known for his roles in NBC’s “The Office” and Amazon Prime’s “Jack Ryan,” is compiling it all in one place. Submitted by escamp on August 31, 2015 - 3:04pm. There’s more longevity, more reliability, ultimately maybe even more affection in being a comforting celebrity than a cool one. If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. As Jim Halpert, the character he played for years on The Office, he was simultaneously the guy who was better than his surroundings and the one who was sometimes unbearable in this belief. God is everywhere—even in the news. (Part 14), Lord Jamar: Scarface & Willie D Running for Office Won’t Change the System (Part 16), Kamica King & Dioamara Perform Live on Sway In The Morning at SXSW. John Krasinski highlights some good news from around the world, including an interview with Steve Carell to mark the 15thanniversary of THE OFFICE, as well as John… Americans’ claustrophobic intimacy with our sitcom stars—how we expect them to be like they were on TV—works against actors who are trying to do something new but in their favor when they can channel it. FOR CBN NEWS CONTINUING COVERAGE ON COVID-19, CLICK HERE. He’s wearing Red Sox boxers, a tutu, a dress, a bathing suit, etc., It’s a dad joke. You can cancel anytime. Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. Thankfully, though, there is good news out there. In the latest episode — complete with a brand new intro song — the celebrity talked to his wife, “Mary Poppins Returns” star Emily Blunt, as well as “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who led the original company in a Zoom performance from the musical for Krasinski’s show. That’s why we view every news story through the lens of faith. Stay informed with the latest from CBN News delivered to your inbox. When he interviews the regular people and medical professionals featured in these videos, he thanks them profusely. Screengrabs from, Always Wears Gloves to Cover Its Catlike Claws, How a Novelist Brings Fictional Characters to Life, An Instant Oral History of the Strangest, Starriest, Steve Carell reminiscing with Krasinski about, astronauts at the International Space Station holding up. We are committed to delivering quality independent Christian journalism you can trust. All contents © 2020 The Slate Group LLC. In the past few years he has bulked up his familiar sitcom star persona with some action-hero brawn, becoming a vintage dad: corny, a little overconfident, but with his heart in the right place. But strung together, those clips lose their power. That this does not seem to have been his goal is part of the reason it’s happening. (The 63-year-old does have three grandchildren.) John Krasinski revealed exactly why he sold his quarantine YouTube series, "Some Good News," to ViacomCBS. Early in the quarantine, when Gal Gadot enlisted dozens of celebrities to sing along to “Imagine,” the participants accidentally revealed that they believed a celebrity’s mere presence—however cheesy and ineffectual—to be an uplifting gift. The joke of a dad joke is not the joke itself—those are only ever groaningly funny, if that—it’s the dad. All that to say: just like the first episode, this one is definitely worth watching. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File). What with our abusive presidential father, the American public is so desperately in need of reassuring authority figures someone tossing out Life Savers candies might get a second look.