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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Julian Shapiro-Barnum has built a massive digital following on a simple, profound premise: asking children for life advice. What began as a senior thesis has evolved into a production ecosystem that includes the viral hit Recess Therapy and the celebrity-driven series Celebrity Substitute, both of which blend improvisational comedy with genuine human connection.
For marketers, his work demonstrates how brand partnerships can actually improve a show’s content while delivering real value to the community. Here, Shapiro-Barnum shares his point of view on successful creator partnerships, the importance of maintaining audience trust, and why he believes adults have so much to learn from kids.
Julian Shapiro-Barnum built “Recess Therapy” on a foundation of radical empathy and improvisational comedy. By providing a stage for children to share their unfiltered perspectives, he created a community-led format that prioritizes authenticity over traditional production.
Think with Google: How do you describe your channel’s mission?
Julian Shapiro-Barnum: “Recess Therapy” is a comedy project first and foremost, but it branches into something deeper. I’m a comedian and an improviser, but the mission behind the work is asking: “How can we as adults become better adults and better people through the advice of kids?” Kids are able to simplify things in a way that is actually very helpful.
Adults tend to overthink everything, and hearing a child get down to the core of a problem — even if their perspective lacks nuance — is incredibly refreshing. It sparks joy by reminding viewers of what they were like as children, and it connects with people who don’t normally spend much time with kids.
What common values bond your followers together?
My followers really champion the kids in the videos, and the comment sections always have a very good vibe. They see these kids being real, and it makes the audience feel more real too.
Kids are able to simplify things in a way that is actually very helpful.
How do you bring ‘kid energy’ to massive cultural moments like awards shows?
When I first started, having celebrity guests on “Recess Therapy” wasn’t really a thing. The press cycle hadn’t fully moved to digital yet. We were among the first to bring that format to the center of the cultural zeitgeist. I remember interviewing Jenny Slate for “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” back in 2021. At that point, people just weren’t going on internet shows to talk about their films.
By the time I hosted the Golden Globes with two kids in 2023, it clicked: This is how people want to experience these moments now. Each digital show has its own way of getting at a different side of a celebrity, and, for us, seeing how these artists interact with kids unlocks something totally different and heartwarming. Seeing Billie Eilish teach a songwriting class to second graders for “Celebrity Substitute” is interesting, because she’s never done that before. It’s a raw format that provides a totally different, heartwarming scenario than a traditional press junket.
By putting A-list stars in the hot seat with child interviewers, Shapiro-Barnum unlocks a side of celebrity talent that traditional press junkets rarely capture, and creates a grounded, heartwarming connection that resonates far beyond the typical awards show cycle.
What do you look for in a brand partnership?
It is all about creative freedom. I look for a creative team that is “down to clown” and recognizes that the squeakiest clean, two-dimensional, safe content is not what viewers want to watch. To help with that, I wrote a “show bible” for “Recess Therapy,” a manifesto of what the show will always be and what it won’t be. Having that clear container actually gives you more room to play, because you know exactly where the boundaries are. When a brand knows who they are and what they can or cannot do, there is so much freedom within those bounds to make a genuinely interesting video rather than just an ad.
How do you ensure a partnership adds to the viewer’s experience rather than interrupting it?
With “Celebrity Substitute,” Amazon is the title sponsor, and we’ve built the show so that the brand is a piece of the storytelling, not something shoehorned in. A key piece of that show is a give-back component, where we provide classrooms with whatever the teachers or schools need. It’s a successful approach, because the partnership is completely natural and actually additive. The people and the community we’re working with benefit from the brand’s involvement. When the audience sees that the brand is actually helping these kids, it doesn’t feel like an ad. It feels like a natural part of the story we’re telling.
In the digital series Celebrity Substitute, produced by Amazon, brand integration goes beyond product placement to create additive content. In this video, A$AP Rocky transformed a classroom into a permanent recording studio for a Title I school in Harlem, blending entertainment with community impact.
What is your advice for brands partnering with creators for the first time?
- Be clear about your “no” to empower your “yes.” Standing by the things that are truly important to your brand shouldn’t jeopardize a partnership. In fact, any healthy relationship should have the space for those open, honest conversations about boundaries. If you’re clear about your “no,” it makes your “yes” much more powerful.
- Give the “why,” let them handle the “how.” You have to trust that the creator knows their audience best. A big part of that trust is letting them figure out how to get the brand messaging across while upholding the key tenets of their show.
- Be decisive where you need to be and generous where you don’t. The part of the project you should have control over is the way your specific brand is represented and mentioned. Being overinvolved in the creative components outside of your branded moments gets tricky and can actually be detrimental to the success of the project.
Where do you see your work going next?
I’m moving into my first non-kid project this spring, called “Outside Tonight.” It’s YouTube’s first late-night show. I grew up as a child of late-night television, but that format has never been fully brought into the digital age. We’ll be doing free, outdoor, weekly late-night shows all around New York City and putting them on YouTube. I’ll use all my kid-interviewing skills, but apply them to adults. It’s the next step in seeing how this style of raw, unscripted interviewing can work in a totally different environment.
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