Happy Thursday!

Lots of interesting stuff today, including the future of Noel Miller’s TMG Studios, MrBeast vs Caleb Hearon, the Love Island USA reunion, some book convention disasters, and more.

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Noel Miller is now the sole owner of TMG Studios

Tiny Meat Gang, consisting of Noel Miller and Cody Ko, were longtime creative partners, first on YouTube and then on their eponymous podcast. 

So when Ko stepped away from “day-to-day operations” from their podcast network TMG Studios last year, fans had a lot of questions about what would happen to the fledgling media company. Miller recently confirmed in an Instagram comment that he is now the sole owner of TMG Studios.

“hey gang, i am the sole owner of tmg studios and there is nothing hidden in the background,” he wrote under a post on the Upstairs Neighbors podcast’s Instagram.

On Tuesday, Miller shared a glimpse of the network he’s building with the addition of five new shows to TMG Studios. 

Miller has been helming the TMG podcast solo since Ko’s departure alongside the show Company Lot. Before Tuesday, the network’s only other show was Brooke and Connor Make A Podcast, hosted by Brooke Averick and Connor Wood. 

Now, the network will be home to:

• Upstairs Neighbors, hosted by Dom Roberts and Maya Umemoto Gorman (A Yap Year fav!)

• Crash Dummies, hosted by Patrick Johnson and Michael Esiobi

• Big Al's Grill ASMR, hosted by Alec Flynn

• Not That Y’all Care, hosted by Tristan Watson and Channing Glenn

• Are We Still Friends, hosted by Aleena Miller (Noel’s wife) and Sarah Meyer

I can’t wait to see what the sets look like. TMG Studios was one of the first podcasts that I tuned into that put a heavy emphasis on visuals. Video podcasts are ubiquitous now, but TMG has long invested in beautiful sets, which are unique to each show.

A representative for Miller did not respond to Yap Year’s request for comment. When interviewed about the move by TheWrap, Miller said that he chose shows he connected with and paid attention to authenticity over follower count. 

“My team makes it possible for us to be more like a production partner than just a studio,” Miller said, regarding what he offers to the show creators. “That is really exciting to us because whenever talent comes to us with a crazy idea, everyone who works at the studio is so capable.

Last July, Ko received backlash over his previous sexual relationship with Tana Mongeau when she was 17 and he was 25. The network halted production on its small roster of shows for a week, which at the time included the flagship TMG podcast, Brooke and Connor Make A Podcast, Obsessed with Brooke Averick, The Zach and Wahlid Show, and Insanely Chill. The Emergency Intercom podcast, which had joined the studio a week before the allegations against Ko went viral, left the network amid the controversy. 

In a letter to TMG Studios employees and talent after the Ko allegations, Ko and Miller wrote: “As we enter into this next phase of the studio, we wanted to let you know that Cody will not be involved in the day-to-day operations at TMG Studios. What has transpired over the past few weeks is a personal issue for him, and Cody wants to remove any effect this is having on your professional and personal lives and the work you and our other hosts have done to make TMG Studios so successful.”

I’m curious to see this new direction TMG Studios goes in. I think these picks are smart and strategic for the brand. I suppose this means the new era begins in earnest now.

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