The Return of Shane Dawson

It’s no secret that 2018 was the year Shane Dawson revolutionized YouTube. Between the Tanacon and the Jeffree Star documentaries, Dawson raised the bar for production in the YouTube community. However, fans were shocked when he announced a three-month hiatus after the release of the Jake Paul documentary series in September, making this the first break he would ever take from YouTube in his 10-year career.

During this break, Dawson has not only been teasing another high production series with Jeffree Star, but expressed his desire to stray away from his usual vlogs and begin creating videos that are like Netflix documentaries. And honestly, I’m way too impatient. Fortunately, Dawson has blessed us all this 2019 when he finally released part one of his “special edition” conspiracy theory series on January 30. Not only is this his first time making a conspiracy video in two parts, but he announced that each of them would be two hours long, which once again pushes the envelope.  

And boy, was it worth the wait. As a longtime Shane Dawson fan, I couldn’t help but smile when he did his iconic intro “Hey, what’s up you guys?”

It was as if an old friend had returned after a long vacation. Although I thoroughly enjoyed his past conspiracy videos which were light-hearted with a hint of creepy, I have to say that not only was this video bone-chilling, but I was glued to the screen for the entire video, mesmerized by how well the editing was done. Let’s be clear, some theories were a bit of a stretch, but the others really had me intrigued and wanting to know more.

Between talking about Apple phone glitches, to subliminal messages in children’s cartoons and even visiting the Woosley fires victims’ homes, Dawson acts more as an investigator than a comedian for most of this video, straying away from his usual style. Although we still get a glimpse of our fan favorites, Morgan and Ryland Adams, Andrew Siwicki and Garrett Watts, it’s the darkest video Dawson has made to date. A few days after the video’s release, Dawson announced the release date of Part 2 (February 6) and that it will be more of a narrative with a hint of conspiracy. I am now left wondering if the rest of Dawson’s videos this year will follow this similar pattern, and if they do, will the rest of the YouTube community follow as well?