This is a picture of me and Billy from 11:41 p.m. on December 31, 2022.
It’s not as though my entire life was about to change moments after this photo was taken, but it stirs something in me to see this image, a me without the baggage (non-derogatory) of the year ahead. A year that is now, as I write this, behind.
This was the year that everything changed. In big ways and in small ways and in ways I’m still processing. I try with great intention not to analyze how I do or even what I do, but in this fleeting moment of reflection, it occurs to me that the why is quite clear: It’s you. Your click. Your ‘like.’ Your follow. Your comment. Your message. Your subscribe. Your review. Your mention. Your care. It’s because of you that I’ve been afforded this platform and these opportunities. Though I know I don’t take any of it for granted, I hope that always comes through in the work.
I care a lot. And I put a lot of care into what I say and how I say and how I present my thoughts and what I don’t say. I don’t agonize — that’s not part of the process for me — but I’m constantly calibrating the magic space between a leap of faith and deep consideration.
I read every DM because I want to. My thoughts are constantly mixing with yours, sometimes folding into new, richer thoughts. I want to know it all without ever being a know-it-all. I want to absorb, but I don't want to hold it all in for too long. I want to share. Perhaps you’re like me in that way, and that’s why we connect. No matter what, I thank you so deeply for giving a shit.
About nine months ago I decided to launch a newsletter. I was reticent because I already have too much on my plate, but also excited about the prospect of creating a new, bigger plate, but also weary of — we’re continuing the plate metaphor, yeah? — how my plate would compare to the other, more established, more dishwasher-tested plates. Billy, fiancé to the newsletter, will tell you that this was all his idea and that he encouraged me to do it for months before. And that’s true. But like Anna in Stepmom, I have to do things on my own time.
But Billy sensed something that I had not yet come to realize: I wanted space to grow and foster opinions beyond Instagram — not just my own, but also those so generously shared with me on social media. I was, concurrently, eager to build out Shut Up Evan: The Podcast into something with more frequency and the ability to cover topics beyond the interview format. So here we are!
Not even a year later, Shut Up Evan: The Newsletter has over a million views, thousands of free subscribers, and hundreds of paids. I’m not going to bore you with self-aggrandizing stats, but this newsletter has taken off in ways I couldn’t imagine. It’s given me a creative outlet unlike any I’ve ever had, one that allows me to do what I love most: write. I love making memes, podcasting, interviewing and creating ~content~ (*shudders at the earnest use of the word*), but what I love to do most of all is writing. If you’re reading this, you’ve played a role in helping allow me to do that.
Here are some of the most-read stories from the first eight months of newslettering:
Every Named 'And Just Like That...' Season 2 Character Ranked
Greta Lee & the Art of Being Good At It Over and Over and Over Again
Jacob Elordi May Be 6'5", But Is He 6'5" Actor Jacob Elordi?
There’s so much ground still left to cover: a new season of Shut Up Evan: The Podcast, over a hundred newsletters to come this year (none of which have been written yet) and a few big announcements. You’ll be the first to know, duh. But that’s both a lot and enough about me. Back to you! I’m wishing you and yours health, happiness and compassion as we stumble into another new year.
Here’s to more magic.