Why YouTube Needs to Renew “Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television”

What made Ryan Hansen special is drumroll please Ryan Hansen amp160The amp8220Ry Guyamp8221 has been doing his thing on shows like Veronica Mars Party Down and one of my personal faves Resident Advisors for over a decade now amp160Sure some of you maybe be going amp8220Whoamp8221 amp160But the jokeamp8217s on you because thatamp8217s Ryan Hansenamp8217s main joke amp160So I guess technically the jokeamp8217s on him amp160Either way series creator and executive producer Rawson Marshall Thurber took that joke and ran with it back in 2017 and the result has been something truly uniqueAt any given time during an episode of Ryan can and will go from amp8220reality showamp8221 to procedural to multicam sitcom studio audience and all and while for most shows thatamp8217d be a death sentence this one turned it into their thing amp160The idea is that the mayor of Los Angeles greenlit something called Celebrity Vice Squad a reality show where Ryan Hansen solves crimes on amp8220televisionamp8221 with a amp8220reallifeamp8221 LAPD officer at his side amp160However the reality of the show not really being on TV per se and being a streaming show that keeps most of its episodes behind a paywall on YouTube a website almost exclusively known for free usergenerated content is also something that everyone on the show is aware of amp160What results is this universe where not only are these celebritycop pairings normal happenstance but things like the absence of due process or the fact that thereamp8217s a camera crew literally always present doesnamp8217t seem to bother anyoneRegardless the whole Odd Couplecop show thing works for them in large part due to what both fictional and reallife Ryan Hansen bring to the table fierce comedic chops and an intimate knowledge of the LA scene amp160His original partner Jessica Mathers Samira Wiley did an amazing job of being everything Ryan wasnamp8217t in the first season as she was meant to be the nononsense cop that grounded us to reality amp160Their dynamic worked and as time passed and they went from wacky case to wacky case their onscreen relationship bloomed into something likable enough to make me genuinely upset when it was announced that Wiley had been replaced for season twoThat replacement would end up being none other than Vince Vincente Wood Harris pictured at top left opposite Hansen and even though the HansenMathers fan in me hates to say it it felt like an improvement amp160Donamp8217t get me wrong I wouldnamp8217t change a thing about season one but the show was going through its growing pains setting the viewers expectations for what kind of show it intended to be and in doing so produced a couple of cringeworthy moments amp160I know all of it was fictional but Wileyamp8217s character didnamp8217t feel authentic enough as an officer for me at times amp160Granted Harrisamp8217 first appearance consists of him openly assaulting a witness in broad daylight at the scene of a murder but that eventually played into what was a much tighter arc in the second season Overall Harris had an overall believability that really worked for his role as Hansenamp8217s straight man but Wiley and Hansenamp8217s dynamic set the emotional baseline for the showThe soul of Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television lies in the titular characteramp8217s seemingly indestructible optimism and his wealth of knowledge about the most vapid ridiculous aspects of LA actor culture and trends amp160At the end of the day Ryanamp8217s a good guy whoamp8217s done great work and while for the most part heamp8217s a loveable goof he does genuinely come through in the clutch when dealing with these Hollywood murders adding credence to how useful he is amp160That doesnamp8217t stop his partner from calling him an idiot or his network from trying to replace him but thatamp8217s the joke amp160Heamp8217s just happy to be here guysSeason one had cameos from celebs like Joe McHale Jon Cryer Donald Faison and Kristen Bell among many others all of whom played bizarro versions of themselves except for Joel McHale I think that might just be him amp160Cryer played a murderous psychopath Faison a super selfobsessed party animal and Bell an allegedly homicidal offbrand Disney character rental madame amp160Yeah amp160This gave us great moments my favorite being Kristen Bell saying amp8220Elsa can suck my dickamp8221 to a little girl while being arrested in an Elsa costume amp160Bell played Anna Elsaamp8217s sister in the Disney movie FrozenSeason two takes everything I loved about the first and really makes it shine amp160It upped the ante with even more cameos amp160Faison and McHale return as callbacks to the first season leading to a hilarious back and forth between Faison and Harris they starred in 2000amp8217s Remember the Titans together amp160Cryer returns as well and of course thereamp8217s that Ken Marino appearance for all you Party Down fans out thereThe show needs to be seen to be fully appreciated amp160It has a ton of running jokes metacommentary and guest appearances and itamp8217s kind of impossible to sht on because it spends most of its time shtting on itself amp160By embracing all of its most ridiculous aspects it has created something that truly doesnamp8217t exist and after that almost tearworthy seasonseries finale may never exist again amp160In an interview with IndieWire Thurber said that YouTube had been amp8220completely supportive amp8211 hands off but in a good wayamp8221 and I believe it was this creative freedom that allowed for something so out there to exist in the first place amp160It remains to be seen if YouTube will bring the series back for what I feel is a welldeserved third season but according to Thurber in that same interview amp8220Nobody has quite asked us to the dance yetamp8221So yeah it is very possible that we wonamp8217t get another season of Ryan Hansenamp160 If thatamp8217s the case I hope that its mere existence has paved the way for more shows like it or at least for other networks to maybe lend their showrunners the same amount of creative freedom that streaming services like YouTube Premium have been prepared to offer amp160Either way Iamp8217m just glad this whole thing shed some overdue light on the amp8220Ry Guyamp8221 amp160Lord knows heamp8217s earned itClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Why YouTube Needs to Renew “Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television”

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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Why YouTube Needs to Renew “Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television”

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Ainsley Andrade

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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