So Far, Banner Year for Top Pop Culture Podcast "Watch What Crappens":

• Nominated for Top Industry Awards in Two Categories
• Closed Ad-Sales Representation and Distribution Deal with Wondery
• Booked 2023 National Tour in Country's Largest Theaters, and The Golden Crappies Awards in LA on Feb. 24

Clever. Funny. Shady.  And 3.7 million downloads a month!

"We liken this to the 'watercooler effect': we build community and give people a place to gather, commiserate, gossip and party. Crappens is the escape valve we need today."

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Watch What Crappens, one of the nation's top pop culture podcasts, is hitting the jackpot these days. The 5-day a week podcast which playfully comments on Realty TV's ongoing twists and drama, has been nominated for "Best Pop Culture Podcast" and "Best TV and Film Podcast" in the 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards competition by iHeartpodcasts, the #1 global podcast publisher with more hit shows in more categories than any other podcaster platform. (There are only 5 nominees per category.) The winners will be announced on March 14th at 9pm ET/6pm PT on iHeartRadio's YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, as well as on select iHeartRadio stations across the country.

The Crappens team also just closed an exclusive ad-sales and distribution deal with Wondery, a premium podcast network with over 45 of its shows hitting #1 on Apple Podcasts. Millions of Crappens fans will now be able to enjoy the podcast ad free on Amazon Music and Wondery, and continue to be available on iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and anywhere else podcasts are found.

And, Crappens announced today its 2023 national "Watch What Crappens: The Cheater Brand Tour," which opens on February 2 at Emo's in Austin, followed the next day at the Granada Theater in Dallas, culminating in St. Paul/Minneapolis and Chicago in June. In between, Crappens podcaster hosts – Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam – will deliver laughs fresh to live audiences in Los Angeles at the Wiltern ("The Golden Crappies Awards" on February 24), and in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and in other cities near you. See full schedule, updates, and ticket info at www.watchwhatcrappens.com .

"This is all absolutely huge for us, and with this amazing momentum, we're on track for 2023 to be a banner year," says Mandelker, who attributes Crappens' rabid fanbase and growing megahit, averaging 3.7 million downloads per month, to the "watercooler effect."

"It used to be that people would gather around the office watercooler to share gossip and laughs, but now life is more virtual," he explains. "So, there's a real hunger for community – for a place to gather and share in person. Our live shows provide that – before, during and after the performances. And so do our daily podcasts."

But the daily recaps, dissections, and shade do something more.

Karam adds: "People tell us constantly that our podcast is their self-care, what with the enormous tension – politics, war, personal issues, health – they're experiencing. It's hard to read the headlines and cope with social media, so Ben and I try to make each other laugh for an hour every day by poking fun at the ridiculousness on shows like Housewives and Summer House." He says they get "tons of email from people with hardships in their lives – lost jobs, illness, heartbreak – whatever, and they thank us for providing an escape valve."

The Crappens live shows sell out fast, and their fandom's wild enthusiasm only adds to the pre-show excitement. Before the theme music swells and the lights go on, the party begins. Fans have been known dance in the streets and parade into venues dressed in outrageous getups – from caftans to custom-made threads with none other than Ben and Ronnie's faces adorning the attire. And, with Bravo-lebrities popping up at shows unannounced, well, you never know what you're in for!

Mandelker says celebs love the podcast, too. "If you think the Bravo-lebrities are wild on screen, you should see them live on stage," he says. "Somehow, we always manage to kick it up a notch – or five. We never know where the night will go when they show up!"

Those who have put in appearances on a Crappens live show: Dorinda Medley (RHONY) Jackie Goldschneider (RHONJ) Ariana Madix, and Tom Sandoval from Vanderpump Rules; Captain Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain and Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck; Patricia Altschul from Southern Charm; Shannon Beador of Real Housewives of Orange County; MJ Javid from Shahs of Sunset; Lea Black from Real Housewives of Miami; and Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out, among others. The podcast's 2022 Golden Crappies Awards sold out Town Hall in New York City.

Ten years ago, what began as lark, without any major studio backing, has morphed into a smash hit, compounded by their roadshow. "We were the first or among the very first to bring our show to a theater near you," Karam notes. "Now, we're playing in the largest theaters around the country." Crappens is usually found in the Top Ten iTunes podcasts in the TV/Film genre, and the Top 200 overall.

Watch What Crappens got started in 2012 when Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam, two colleagues who just happened to like talking about shows they watched the night before, thought it would be fun to share their observations. So did lots of others, and their audiences grew and grew. They decided to give live theater a go in 2017, and have been touring ever since. The duo was featured at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, regularly featured on Watch What Happens with Andy Cohen, and was at SXSW in Austin. Bustle called Watch What Crappens "dependably fantastic"; The Huffington Post declared Crappens the "go to podcast for all things Bravo"; and Buzzfeed ranked the show on its list of "22 Fantastic Podcasts to Make Your Commute Less Shitty."

Comedy superstar Bill Burr raved about Crappens, calling it the "SNL of Real Housewives! They're so funny! It's stepping into a world you're paying no attention to …I probably got only 15-20% of the jokes but watching them…and I think they only worked off some bullet points…  they were absolutely destroying them [the audience]…" A live podcast! It was awesome, f…g hilarious!"  (Monday Morning podcast, February, 2022)

SOURCE Watch What Crappens