Shane Madej

Shane Madej
Born
Shane Alexander Madej

(1986-05-16) May 16, 1986
Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S.
EducationColumbia College Chicago
Occupations
  • Internet personality
  • paranormal investigator
Years active2014–present
Known for
Spouse
Sara Rubin
​
(m. 2023)​

Shane Alexander Madej (born May 16, 1986) is an American Internet personality, paranormal investigator, and co-founder of digital entertainment company, Watcher Entertainment. Madej rose to prominence for co-starring in the YouTube true crime and supernatural series BuzzFeed Unsolved.

Early life

Madej was born on May 16, 1986, in Schaumburg, Illinois to Mark and Sherry Madej. He has one brother, Scott.[1]

He went to Northern Illinois University for two years before attending Columbia College Chicago for editing.[2][3] Following his graduation, Madej worked several jobs including producing corporate videos, working in public-access television and at Starbucks.[4]

Career

BuzzFeed (2014–2019)

Madej joined BuzzFeed as an intern before later joining the unscripted team.[4] In December 2016, Madej took over as the co-host in BuzzFeed Unsolved with Ryan Bergara. He made his first appearance in the episode "The Secret Society Of The Illuminati". The show was split into two separate series, Unsolved: True Crime and Unsolved: Supernatural. The former featured Bergara presenting unsolved true crime cases to Madej and presenting possible theories,[5][6] while Supernatural consisted of the pair investigating reportedly haunted locations and attempting to elicit responses for paranormal proof. The show became one of Buzzfeed's most successful series, generating over a billion video views and 16.6 billion minutes of total watch time.[7]

Madej was also the creator and host of the successful educational BuzzFeed show, Ruining History.[8] This show focused on Madej telling unbelievable stories of history to a panel of other BuzzFeed employees – with Bergara and Sara Rubin being consistent panelists.

Madej left BuzzFeed as a full-time employee in 2019. In 2020, he and Bergara signed a contract to finish the final seasons of Unsolved, which ended in 2021.[9]

Watcher Entertainment (2019–present)

In 2019, Madej co-founded a digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with fellow ex-Buzzfeed employees, Bergara and Steven Lim.[8] The trio served as co-CEOs until 2023, when both Madej and Bergara stepped down to focus on the creation of content.[10]

The channel hosts are a variety of shows starring Madej, Bergara, and Lim, spanning cooking, mystery, gaming, and horror.[8] Included is Unsolved's successors – Mystery Files and Ghost Files – which have both proved successful.[11]

Madej is the creator of the web series, Puppet History, a spiritual successor to his Buzzfeed show Ruining History.[9][12] The series consists of Madej starring as The Professor, a puppet, quizzing Bergara and a special guest on peculiar historical events and people.[13] Madej also portrays a large variety of different characters on the show, including at least one new puppet every episode, an evil genie, and a fictionalized version of himself.[14] The show received an Honoree Award at the 2022 Webby Awards for a Science & Education Channel[15] and remains one of Watcher's most popular shows.

In 2023, Madej and Bergara went on a national tour to premiere the second season of Ghost Files.[16][17] In April 2025, Madej appeared as himself on the ABC show The Rookie. He and Bergara portrayed themselves in the midst of a paranormal investigation for an episode of Ghost Files.[18]

Personal life

In September 2023, Madej married his longtime girlfriend, Sara Rubin.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2020 Beautiful Day Male Hiker Short Film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2020 S.W.A.T. Ira Episode: "Gunpowder Treason"
2025 The Rookie Himself Episode: "A Deadly Secret"

References

  1. ^ Madej, Scott. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  2. ^ Goodbye YouTube. YouTube. April 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Fleshman, Cu (2020-02-25). "Q&A: Checking In With Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara And Shane Madej Of Watcher - Character Media". Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  4. ^ a b Hale, James (26 September 2019). "Creators Going Pro: Ryan Bergara And Shane Madej Launch Season 6 Of Their Megahit Web Series 'BuzzFeed Unsolved'". Tubefilter (Blog). Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  5. ^ Currier, Sarah (1 October 2023). "Ryan Bergara discusses past and future content at ISU AfterDark". Iowa State Daily. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ^ Francisco, Eric (13 April 2019). "'BuzzFeed Unsolved': How the Hosts Choose New Crimes Every Season". Inverse. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  7. ^ Spangler, Todd (7 June 2021). "'BuzzFeed Unsolved' Final Two Seasons Set to Premiere This Year". Variety. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Spangler, Todd (2019-12-09). "Ex-BuzzFeed Video Staffers Launch Watcher Entertainment Digital Studio (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. ^ a b "'Buzzfeed Unsolved' to 'Ghost Files': Ryan and Shane's triumph over the corporate machine". ‘Buzzfeed Unsolved’ to ‘Ghost Files’: Ryan and Shane’s triumph over the corporate machine - The Miami Student. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  10. ^ Press 💬, The Publish. "Why This Channel Went from 3 CEOs to 1 🔻". The Publish Press. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  11. ^ Alexander, Fisher (2022-10-03). "'Ghost Files' Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara Are the Best Ghost Hunters in the Biz". Collider. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  12. ^ Luna, Elizabeth de (2023-03-02). "YouTube's favorite ghoul boys, Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara, tell us what they've been watching". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
  13. ^ Alexander, Fisher (2023-03-12). "7 Watcher Entertainment's Must-Watch Shows". Collider. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  14. ^ Danbury, Dorothy (29 Jan 2023). "Puppets Revolutionizing Online Media". Puppets Revolutionizing Online Media - The Bullhorn News. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  15. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  16. ^ Huynh, Julie. "The Ghoul Boys are in town! Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej premiere new show "Ghost Files" at the Wilbur Theater". The Suffolk Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  17. ^ "Ghost Files Live! Tour ready to haunt the Luxor". Channel 13 Las Vegas News KTNV. 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  18. ^ Little, Sarah (2025-04-23). "The Rookie Season 7, Episode 15 Review: I'm Annoyed By The Execution Of Tim & Lucy's Long-Awaited Talk But Happy About 1 Villain's Future". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  19. ^ "Sara E Rubin". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
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