I did look around in the FNT sphere a few days ago just to see what's up and the funny thing is that basically nothing has changed in what they're doing. Same content, same format, same complaints about the same industries and both Gary and Critical Drinker celebrated breaking record streaming numbers on twitter a while back. Literally the only thing CG had to do was to churn out the comics on time and on a regular, if spaced out, basis like the FNT guys do and now EVS wouldn't have to run and gun for any grasp of relevancy.
Friday Night Tights has ‘succeeded’ where Comicsgate failed for numerous reasons:-
1) The FNT show is a collaborative effort ‘twixt Methrotic and G&G. Jeremy Griggs, for all his faults, is someone who strikes me as being able to get things done and his various peons across the G&G channels do a lot of legwork at these meet-ups for Jeremy and Gary. This and the fact that Jeremy had schmoozed connections to get ever-more big names in the world of the internet. Ethan, on the contrary, wanted to be in total control of CG and his autism/idiocy/narcissistic tendencies ruined any hope of a similarly well-oiled CG team.
2) Despite the fact that FNT have beaten the ‘muh SJW’ culture war thing to death, they largely keep their private dramas out of the show and do a pretty good job in selecting which targets they mock (Hollywood types or figures who will never compromise their fanbase like Grace Randolph). This appeals more to the politically neutral nerd, rather than having to listen and understand the CG lore each time a new Ethan drama unfolds.
3) The FNT lot use YouTube
as their product. Merch and meetups play second fiddle but these guys are free to focus exclusively on their show and their YouTube reach. I have to give grudging credit to Gary/Jeremy in that they have tried to expand FNT continually and manage to focus on pulling in ever more impressive guests (impressive of course in the context of fame/notoriety). Ethan and co have salted the Earth beyond any hope of getting any neutral comic pros on their shows. Imagine for example a quality discussion between Ethan and Geoff Johns about their time together in comics. As a comic nerd I would salivate at that prospect but Ethan’s missions statement inherently prohibits these possibilities. Some of the FNT lot are of course doing comics (Drinker, Shad) but none of these extra-curricular ventures fuck with the primetime FNT stream, or their own channels. CG by definition are always stuck with fulfilling their campaigns and very few of them - if any - get the YT/irl comic graft balance right.
4) There is no apparent competition amongst the FNT crew, so that quells the likelihood of mutinies like we frequently see in CG. Whether by design or by natural order, Gary has been accepted as leader, Jeremy and Az the lieutenants, the rest are rank and file and the unseen mods/producers know their place too. Plus Gary is canny at knowing how to use the attributes of his troops (Az’s rants, XRay Girl’s Asian fever allure, Chrissie’s oversexed Jewish Aunt routine, jokes about Comix’s manlet stature etc)
5) I personally think that the FNT meetups have worked wonders for Gary’s channel. There’s more to these meetups than flogging product and if there is one thing Ethan seems to have forgotten from his early days hanging out with Jeremy G, it’s the power of having a presence amongst your prospective audience. Ethan bemoaned conventions in his last Trashcast (#12), but seems to be almost wilfully ignorant of how other types of fan meet-ups could be made to work. He could have literally plagiarised what Gary/Jeremy do and used the same template for CG. That ship though has not only sailed but is a decommissioned, rusting hulk rotting in dry dock.
There are no doubt other reasons - Gary’s schtick as the born-again meth-head; strong associates in people like Razorfist, Eric July, Drinker and Gundam with great cross-pollination and great opportunities for grifter promotion; cross-nerd appeal of various media formats with an expert on gaming/films/TV/sport across the panel; and Gary’s shrewd ability to ditch anyone holding him back at the right time (RIP Doomcock).
This might read as though I am a fan of FNT - far from it. I used to really enjoy FNT way back in 2019/2020 when they were really immersed in the bad AND the good of modern entertainment. Like CG, FNT and the constituent channels got a significant boost from the pandemic - the difference is that Gary/Jeremy used that impetus and put in a lot of effort to get the coin; Ethan on the other hand got the coin upfront from a load of disillusioned comic readers, and totally squandered the opportunity to really become an alternative movement.
I hate FNT’s current model. But I have to hand it to them, they’ve made a massive success with absolutely zero tangible creativity.