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Traditional television might have once been the predominant way to escape into a simpler world, but more and more folks are finding the same type of comfort on Youtube.

After all, Youtube was essentially the first platform that enabled people to both create and consume content specifically keened into their unique interests, and it remains an entertainment powerhouse because of that, yucky monetization stuff aside.

On Youtube you can learn new things, see spectacular sights, laugh at funny sketches, go on a deep dive into your favorite bits of pop culture, and more. Sure, you can basically do these things on its social media predecessors like TikTok and Instagram, but in bite-sized versions. For those who still appreciate long form content, i.e. old folks, it’s nice to have something that feels a bit like a comfort tv show, with the candidness of a home video. And for that, Youtube is king.

Odds are your Youtube algorithm is well set with creators you enjoy, but if you’re looking to add something new, we’ve got a curated list of options brought to you by our sponsors. Aka Reddit.

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Someone by the user name of ThatsMrMuckToYou asked: “What is your comfort Youtube channel?” and people responded with all kinds of different answers. But overall what people really seemed to find comfort in was helpful information (travel videos, history, science, etc.) combined with a host who was down-to-earth, warm and didn’t promote an agenda.

Take a look at some of the best contributions below.

1. Tasting History with Max Miller

Uncover the origins of the world famous PB&J, discover what makes deviled eggs so devilish, find out why the heck the Michelin tire company is the authority on good food, and more with host Max Miller. In each episode, Miller recreates ancient or historical recipes while explaining the very human stories behind them. After each video you’ll feel a little smarter, and a whole lot hungrier.

2. Defunctland

Defunctland got its claim to fame with documentary style videos exploring the history of extinct theme parks and amusement park attractions. Unsurprisingly Disneyland relics make up a bulk of the content.

Nowadays, the Defunct canon also consists of television shows deeply buried within every millennials subconscious, like “Zooboomafoo” and “Between the Lions.”

3. Wolter’s World

This channel promises “HONEST travel advice without all the extra fluff” and definitely delivers. Wolter’s World primarily focuses on do’s and don’t of different cities, but will also go off the beaten path every once in a while, like with his “travel scams” video. It’s no wonder that folks find comfort in seeing beautiful places around the world, or that they love the charming way Wolter helps them learn about these gems.

4. Steve1989MREInfo

You’ve probably never thought to yourself, “you know what I’d really like to see today? A guy eating vintage military rations.” But still, Steven Thomas quells that curiosity before it happens. Some of Thomas’ most notable reviews are of a 61-year-old peanut butter from a Korean War-era C-ration.as well as an American Civil War-era hardtack from 1863. Besides the obviously unique content, folks really love Thomas’ calm delivery and catchphrases, such as “nice hiss”—referring to the oh-so satisfying sound that can be made when opening hermetically sealed packages.

“Actually really fascinating to see how food preservation has evolved over the decades!” one fan noted.

5. Camping With Steve

Dubbed the “modern day Bob Ross” by some viewers, Steve Wallis doesn’t consider himself a survivalist, but seems to be able to camp anywhere—from mountain terrains to more unusual spots like Walmart parking lots. On his channel, you can learn about all sorts of camping styles, including “boondocking”, “urban stealth”, “gold mining,” “bushcraft”, and yard camping. It’s all in an effort to, as Wallis puts it, to “take back camping for the people.”

6. History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

As perfectly suggested in the name, Holiday’s 20-ish minute history documentaries feel as fun, warm and refreshing as a nice cuppa tea. Her knowledge is also pleasantly wide spread, allowing her to be able to delve into a variety of topics. But one thing remains the same now matter what—here passion.

As one viewer put it, “the way she breaks down people’s lives really humanizes them and actually makes me interested in learning history.”

7. Food Wishes

In an internet teeming with recipe videos, this one is petty special

John Armand Mitzewich, more commonly known as “Chef John” might never been seen in his videos, save for his hand holding utensils, but his narrations have a lovely singsong tone, and one can always expect some kind of rhyming wordplay joke. For example: “You are, after all, the law man of your slaw, man.”

Plus, Chef Jon frequently spices up his recipe with some cayenne pepper, since in his opinion it gives the extra touch of the heat being out “the unique tastes of the dishes forward.”

8. Urban Rescue Ranch

Videos of baby coyotes, vultures, beavers, armadillos, raccoons, kangaroos, capybaras…need I go on?

The Urban Rescue Ranch was originally a “crackhouse,” and turned into a Certified wildlife rehabilitation facility and farm sanctuary for exotic livestock in central Texas that are often hunted. Despite a lot of the cheeky titles (like “How to Catch and Cook a Baby Deer”), these wholesome videos just show reduced animals living their best lives.

9. Smarter Every Day

For the more left-brained folks out there, engineer and science communicator Destin Wilson Sandlin strikes a perfect balance between education and entertainment as he “explores the world through science.

Check out what one viewers had to say:

“Destin is contagiously upbeat, seems to be very passionate about everything he approaches and does an excellent job of explaining whatever the subject matter is. His giddiness about some of the same things I would get excited about is a nice mood boost when I need it sometimes. His appreciation for the workers that make things happen is nice to see too. The guys a legit rocket scientist, but relates to mechanics, farmers, machinists, and a whole bunch of other tradesmen as equals, not in a demeaning way that some presenters can do sometimes.”

10. Kitboga

Being a “great example of chaotic good,” Kitboga records himself getting back at phone scammers. It’s not just some satisfying schadenfreude, either. Kitboga tries to educate people by walking them through common scammer lies, and reports them when able.

11. Primitive Technology

Just as the name suggests, host John Plant demonstrates thow to make tools, traps and forms of shelter using only materials found in the wild.

Though you’ll see a lot of stones axes and woven bark fiber items, there’s “no talking, no cringe intro, no ‘like comment subscribe’, no flashy editing, no sound effects, no viral thumbnails, no giveaways, no drama, no sob stories, no clickbait, no sponsors, no fakery”…which at least one viewer really appreciates.

12. Adam Savage’s: Tested

If you’re jonesing for more “Mythbusters” vibes, this is the channel for you. Join Adam Whitney Savage, former “MythBusters” host, as he goes behind the scenes of popular movies to dissect how iconic props are made, or as he infuses some wonder into everyday objects like USB cables. The possibilities are endless.

13. Girl With The Dogs

Vanessa De Prophetis has been a professional pet groomer for 12 years, and can attest that “it’s never a dull moment.” So it’s no wonder that she was able to rack up a huge following with her comedic and informative content (which, by the way, goes to help local dog rescues).

De Prophetis shares both her “best” and “worst” canine and feline clients, but it’s clear that she loves them all in the way she interacts with them.

One fan wrote, “It’s great when a really aggressive dog tries to take her head off and she’s just like, “sir.”

The wait in between the first few Invincible seasons felt interminable, especially for a medium that could theoretically be more easily dealt with during the pandemic (with actors doing voice work). Yep, more than two years passed before we learned what happened after that fight in the sky between Mark and Omni-Man. Fortunately, it won’t be quite that long of a gap before the third season, but that also leads to the question of whether more of the Prime Video series has been greenlit. Fortunately, that answer is “yep.”

Has ‘Invincible’ Been Renewed For Season 3?

As an official Instagram post revealed, the voice work for a third season was already complete in April, and now, it’s up to the animation gods to finish.

At that point, viewers will hopefully find out if that tease — whether Mark is essentially becoming his father — turns out to be true or a red herring. Heck, it could even be possible that reality was twisted a bit, since the second season didn’t shy away from goofing around with that concept, but we’ll have to wait to find out where that ball lands.

In the meantime, AMC’s series from Robert Kirkman’s other wildly popular comic continues. Next up will be a second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon followed up by more of The Walking Dead: Dead City. From there, the speculation can begin in earnest about whether we’ll see Rick Grimes and Michonne pop up again in that post-apocalyptic universe. More waiting to look forward to, but that’s part of TV’s lure.

It’s always inevitable that two main characters in one show will be paired off by the fans, though it seemed to happen quickly when it came to The Bear. Season one introduced the world to Carmy and Sydney, who could not be more different, but that’s what makes the pairing work so well! Platonically!

Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White have mentioned numerous times that forcing a love storyline between them was never in the cards, and even though the fans can’t help but root for them, Edebiri finds it “frustrating.” Now that season three is here, there’s a new potential love interest for Sydney, at least according to social media.

Fans have been picking up on some potential sparks between Sydney and Luca, played by Will Poulter, who “literally begged” to be on the show before appearing on season two. He appears again in season three, this time he gets to interact (flirt??) with Sydney. The people are here for it:

Earlier this month, White confirmed that from the start, “there was no talk in the rooms about any romantic implications [between Carmy and Sydney].” Carmy had his own romantic subplot in season two, which affected his ability to juggle his priorities. If Sydney were to have a love interest, she would probably notice this a bit less.

On the other hand…some people really want Luca to be with Marcus. We will see!

The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the best centers to ever grace a basketball court. In his prime with the Lakers, he was the most dominant force in the league and, as he’ll tell you (and properly so), he was the MDE — Most Dominant Ever.

However, Father Time comes for us all, and even when you put in the work to get in pretty good shape generally, that’s a very different thing than being in playing shape. Shaq learned that the hard way recently, as he got inspired by a visit from Mario Chalmers on his podcast to try and get to the point where he could get on the court in the BIG3. However, a trip to LA Fitness revealed the cold, hard truth about where the 52-year-old Hall of Famer’s game is at, as he explained recently to Ice Cube on The Big Podcast.

“Believe it or not, I tried to get in the gym and…I ain’t got it no more, dog. My sh*t is gone,” Shaq said. “Like, I’ve been eating right and running and jumping. I tried to play in the LA Fitness, I looked like the worst big man ever, dog. I ain’t got it. So I wouldn’t come out there and embarrass your league, and I definitely wouldn’t come out there and embarrass myself. So, maybe next year.”

I desperately want to know what it was like being in whatever LA Fitness gym this was when Shaq rolled up, hopped in a game, and played terribly. Imagine being a normal guy, getting a pickup run in, and you get put on Shaq’s team and think this is going to be the greatest day of your life only for Shaq to be out there tossing up little hook shot bricks. That’s still a great story, but for different reasons. In any case, Shaq’s going to need more time before he makes any BIG3 guest appearances.

Comedian Mo Welch has told a fair amount of dad jokes over the course of her career, though likely not the kind you’re thinking of.

The writer, director, and cartoonist has used her time at the mic to pick apart some painful details of her past, mining dark humor from her estranged relationship with her father for her audience’s benefit. But in her latest special, Dad Jokes, now streaming on 800 Pound Gorilla, she takes things a step further, hitting the road to track down that elusive parental figure while exploring how comedy has helped her cope with some of the more f*cked up memories of her childhood.

On paper, nothing about that really sounds funny, but Welch is able to interject enough wild anecdotes and ridiculous gas station quests — who knew finding a pair of “truck balls” would be so hard — to keep things light and the laughs coming.

Ahead of the special, UPROXX quizzed Welch on everything from her comedy inspo to her love of the WNBA.

What comedy special have you rewatched the most in your life?

If You Didn’t Want Me Then by Beth Stelling, because I directed it. I would’ve watched it 1,000 times anyway! I also love 100% Fresh by Adam Sandler. It’s so creative. I was really impressed that he seamlessly fit in multimedia elements without explaining it to the audience.

When did you know you were funny and that comedy was something you wanted to pursue?

I had my suspicions, but had to wait until college to get confirmation that I was funny. I took an improv class and immediately knew I wanted to do comedy forever, which didn’t make any sense, because I was terrible at improv.

What were you most nervous about when reuniting with your dad for the special?

Getting killed. I was hoping that I would be able to find my dad, reunite with him and have a relationship moving on. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m still alive.

The thing you love and the thing you hate most about being a comic?

I love driving home at night after a show. It’s when I feel my most romantic. Driving down Sunset while everyone in my house is asleep. I’m just thinking about my set and rewriting jokes as I drive. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRINGE, but it’s true. I also love that if I ever need to chat with someone, I just need to go to a comedy club and I’ll see a friend.

The only thing I hate about being a comic is that you’re at the mercy of your credits. Some of the funniest people working in comedy aren’t household names. I see powerful people in Hollywood only care about comics if they’re “hot” and then everyone wants the same people. For the record, I’m not talking about me! Just in general, Hollywood can lack creativity.

What are your go-to songs for a good road trip?

Obviously anything so cool and hip, because I have my finger on the pulse of what’s hot. Usually a playlist from the 1970s for a road trip during the day. Do NOT listen to ballads in the night.

What’s your favorite city to perform in on tour (and why)?

I had some of the most fun shows opening for Brett Goldstein in Minneapolis. The audience was smart and tipsy, which was a good combination. The food was surprisingly good, too. Sorry to say surprisingly, but it was! I was also lucky enough to open for Anthony Jeselnik in Berlin. The audience was chaotic in a great way.

What was your first concert – music or comedy?

First comedy show was at The Comedy Works in Denver, Colorado. I sat in the third row and was amazed by all the comics, which says a lot, because it was a New Talent night. I’m sure I was laughing at some hack jokes, but I loved it. Last year I headlined The Comedy Works and it was a real full circle moment.

Do you have anything to add to the WNBA discourse?

I’m just so excited the WNBA is getting the attention it deserves. I’ve been telling jokes about the WNBA for so long and I retired most of them, but now I’m starting to dust them off. My only problem with the WNBA is that they don’t really do kiss cams at the games and that feels homophobic.

What was your favorite gas station/bar/restaurant you stopped at in Illinois (and why)?

Loved Wally’s Gas Station. It has everything and I’ve purchased many hats from them. That’s pretty much it. I think once you leave Chicago, there aren’t a lot of foodie towns in Illinois. Even though there is a Sandwich, Illinois.

Offset and Gunna continue to display scintillating chemistry on their latest collaboration, the fashion-focused “Style Rare.” In the video, which is co-directed by Offset himself with Joshua “Mid Jordan” Farias, the two designer-minded rappers trade verses in front of a wall of screens in a white room in a scene reminiscent of the “Source” from the Matrix movies. Their all-black outfits keep the Matrix parallels going, although their dance scenes are a little slicker thanks to the women doing choreo instead of a cave full of barefoot refugees fist-pumping to techno.

The two rappers first linked up in March on Gunna’s “Prada Dem” from the YSL rapper’s then-forthcoming album, One Of Wun. Gunna is apparently returning the favor with “Style Rare,” which will presumably appear on Offset’s next solo album, which will follow 2023’s Set It Off. Intriguingly, Offset is so far the only Atlanta-based rapper to have collaborated with Gunna since he was released from Fulton County Jail after pleading guilty to racketeering charges.

Perhaps Offset’s own experiences being cut off from his former group, Migos, for a year, then losing bandmate Takeoff in a shooting, has given him a bit more perspective on the situation than some of their peers. Maybe he now thinks life’s too short to worry about adhering to “street code” when their rap careers have given so much more — and taken away a lot less.

Watch Offset and Gunna’s “Style Rare” video above.

NCIS characters have collectively been through some sh*t. You gotta fuel two decades of the flagship show’s personalities (not to mention several spinoffs including NCIS: LA, NCIS: Sydney, NCIS: New Orleans, and NCIS: Hawai’i) with something other than mere procedural stories. And with NCIS: Origins soon to debut the early naval-investigative career of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, there’s every reason for the Off-Duty: An NCIS Podcast to explore the nitty gritty behind a leading character’s idiosyncrasy.

Sometimes, such explanations are less “quirky” (picture Abby Sciuto dancing in her lab) than downright sad. Cote de Pablo made such a revelation on that podcast while she gears up for NCIS: Tony And Ziva, and the subject of an unusual Gibbs habit came up in conversation (via Screenrant): why does Gibbs never bother to lock doors when he knows the evils that humanity can commit?

The answer to that has to do with an evil (the murder of his wife and daughter while Gibbs was deployed for Operation Desert Storm) that has, in fact, already happened, as de Pablo reasoned: “The answer is because he has already lost what was most important to him, so he actually doesn’t care.”

Yeah, that hurts. Gibbs is also such a reserved character when it comes to discussing personal details, too, but we might see more of that side of him in NCIS: Origins. That spin off will reportedly start in 1991, yet it remains to be seen how much the series will address Gibbs’ unfathomable family tragedy. We will find out more when that show debuts in late 2024 or early 2025.

(Via Screenrant & Off-Duty: An NCIS Podcast)

Sexyy Red wants your vote in her long-awaited video for “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)” with Chief Keef. It IS an election year, after all, and Big Sexyy takes advantage of the convenient timing to continue her campaign to “Make America Sexyy Again” with a campaign ad opening the video, advertising “F My Baby Dad” booty shorts and making some outlandish promises like “free food stamps,” “child support,” and “switches for the Glocks.” Never change, Sexyy. Never change.

Midway through the video, the previously teased Maury homage, Corry, kicks in, with interviews from Sexyy and Keef, who is accused of being the baby daddy in question. The lower thirds are absolutely hilarious throughout Keef’s verse, wondering if the results can be revealed as long as he keeps rapping and cheering Sexyy on as she gyrates across the stage — and on Keef’s lap.

Despite borrowing Donald Trump’s catchphrase for her album rollout, Sexyy distanced herself from the controversial businessman-turned-politician in response to some backlash online. “It’s Sexyy Red 4 President,” she told fans on Twitter. “I’m my own candidate I’m not endorsing anybody period.” However, that would appear to contradict her earlier (possibly facetious) statement about how much the hood loves Trump.

You can watch Sexyy Red’s “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)” video with Chief Keef above.

Fans of college football finally will get to play a video game about the sport again. After not releasing a title in its NCAA Football series in more than a decade, EA Sports will drop the highly-anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 next month, and as part of the build up, we learned which teams will be the best on offense, defense, and overall this week.

Of course, these are video game rankings, so they’re not going to make everyone happy. Still, this year’s game has some wrinkles it’ll need to iron out, as the initial ranking of the top-25 teams could have been a bit better. Here, we’re going to look at three teams that are overrated by EA Sports, and three that deserve a bit more love, with a little help from the predictive measure SP+.

Overrated

Colorado

It is, quite frankly, stunning to see just how high Colorado is in the initial rankings. The offense legitimately has a ton of talent — Shedeur Sanders is one of the best signal callers in America, while their skill position players led by Travis Hunter are going to be fun to use in the game. But between a patchwork offensive line that might start a true freshman at left tackle and a defense that was one of the worst in America last year (even though Hunter is quite good as a cornerback), ranking them at all is pretty crazy. Frankly, unless Sanders and the skill position guys can carry them to a bunch of shootouts, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a pretty serious change whenever the ratings get updated in-season.

EA Sports CFB: 87 overall (No. 16), 89 offense (No. 8), 84 defense (No. 20)
Post-spring SP+: 69th overall, 46th offense, 105th defense

Kansas

The Jayhawks are a blast, as Jalon Daniels is one of the best quarterbacks in America when he’s healthy (unfortunately a big if), Devin Neal is one of the nation’s best running backs, and head coach Lance Leipold always has his teams punch above their own weight. Their offense is going to be good, but their defense has been quite leaky over the years and they lost a good amount of talent on both sides of the ball — nothing completely insane, but they’re 78th in America in returning production, which includes losing Jason Bean, the backup QB who stepped in when Daniels dealt with injury issues and performed well. Again, their offense will be fun to use in the game, but they probably should start just outside the top-25.

EA Sports CFB: 87 overall (No. 22), 87 offense (No. 14), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 37th overall, 16th offense, 66th defense

Clemson

It’s been a weird couple of years for the Tigers, which have been the single most hostile Power 5 program towards the concept of using the transfer portal. As such, the team has to replace a number of major contributors who left for the NFL on both sides of the ball, while the guys they have coming back (namely everyone involved in their passing game) have left something to be desired. I do think EA Sports betting on their defense even though it lost a ton of talent is not a bad bet, considering how good they’ve been over the years even after Brent Venables left for Oklahoma, but their offense has a ton to prove before I’m willing to say it’ll live up to its ranking.

EA Sports CFB: 90 overall (No. 6), 87 offense (No. 10), 90 defense (No. 5)
Post-spring SP+: 14th overall, 15th offense, 13th defense

Underrated

Tennessee

How on earth is Tennessee not in the top-25? The Vols lost a ton on offense and a good amount on defense, but they’ve recruited at a top-15 level over the last few years, and they’ve pretty consistently put up good offenses — even last year, when they took a step back by replacing Hendon Hooker with Joe Milton under center, the Vols put up 31.8 points and 448.1 yards per game. With blue chip QB Nico Iamaleava taking over at QB, I fully expect them to compete in the SEC, and they’d very possibly beat all three of the teams I dropped into the overrated section.

EA Sports CFB: N/A overall, N/A offense, N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 16th overall, 14th offense, 19th defense

Ole Miss

Losing star running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State hurts, but Ole Miss should be viewed as a top-10 team entering the season. EA Sports, however, has them on the outside looking in. No team did better in the transfer portal than Lane Kiffin’s squad, which went 11-2 last year and brings back a ton on the offensive side of the ball, namely standout QB Jaxson Dart. They’re going to score points, and if their defense is able to perform at a high level (which, I think they will, as they killed it in portal recruiting on that side of the ball), this is a team with top-5 potential.

EA Sports CFB: 88 overall (No. 15), 87 offense (No. 13), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 8th overall, 6th offense, 15th defense

SMU

The Mustangs not being ranked at all is also unfortunate — there were no current or former Group of 5 teams in the initial overall ranking, which makes some sense, and while they’re jumping to the ACC this year, they are coming off of 11 wins and an AAC championship. Still, SMU is going to be awesome on both sides of the ball, and will have an outside shot of winning the ACC during their first year in the conference. Star QB Preston Stone is going to lead a dynamic offense (EA Sports did rank them among the top-25 offenses), while their defense has a ton of talent. They’re a top-25 team in post-spring SP+, and should be in CFB 25, too.

EA Sports CFB: N/A overall, 85 offense (No. 20), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 23rd overall, 22nd offense, 39th defense

Kevin Costner has made it very clear that making his new movie Horizon has been his lifelong dream and passion, and the movie is finally hitting theaters, so naturally, everyone is asking him about that other thing. It sure has been a hectic week for the actor, who attempted to derail the ongoing drama by keeping his hands occupied with eight different iterations of banana milkshakes. It did not work.

Over the last few weeks, Costner has been outwardly salty about how his Yellowstone exit went down in the media. Now, he just wants to stop talking about it because surely he is tired of those repetitive questions.

Costner explained his decision to leave (again) while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter recently. Of his departure, he said, “It wasn’t tough. It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on.’”

He added, “I gave this thing five seasons. I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away].” The guessing seems to be if Costner will ever return to Yellowstone, but that door is likely closed. Until he changes his mind again.

For a man who doesn’t need drama, he does occasionally stir some up. While on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Costner responded to criticism that he makes movies just for the dads of the world. “I make movies for men. That’s what I do,” he said. “But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that’s how I’ve conducted my career. I think that’s why I have a good following,” he said before directly thanking all women on Earth.

“I thank you women for dragging your men here — it was a Western after all. I just can’t conceive of a movie without having [strong women].” Not only that, but it also seems like he cannot even fathom making a movie without overloading himself with banana milkshakes. The man needs a break.

(Via Us Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter)