PBS Digital Studios and PBS SoCal announce new original series The Drawing Room with MO Welch

Arlington, VA; July 8, 2025 — PBS Digital Studios and PBS SoCal, MO announce The Drawing Room with WELCH, a new interview series that replaces the traditional talk-show desk with an easel. The fortnightly digital series is now streaming PBS YouTube channel

Hosted by comedians and The New Yorker By cartoonist Moe Welch, The Drawing Room with Moe Welch is a one-of-a-kind interview show that combines art and conversation. In each 15-minute episode, Welch and a notable guest sketch each other while discussing their lives, work and creative journeys. As the portrait takes shape, so does a candid conversation. Guests open up in unexpected ways, share childhood memories, creative obstacles and moments of self-discovery. Each episode ends with a portrait reveal, providing a playful and personal look at how host and guest see each other.

“When I was ten, I wanted to be a cartoonist and play in the WNBA,” said Moe Welch, host of the Drawing Room. “One of those dreams is finally coming true. I get to chat with the geniuses while they draw me.”

Guests span the creative spectrum—actors, musicians, writers—each bringing their own perspectives. Through this focused exchange, The Drawing Room with MO WELCH reveals that creativity can be a powerful way to break down walls and connect on a human level. In the first episode, actor Brett Goldstein (Shrink, Ted Lasso), comedian Sarah Silverman (Wreck It Ralph, Bob’s Burgers) and musician Vijay Gupta. Additional guest appearances on the series include comedian John Gabras (Game over, man!, short), Demi Adezuigbe (The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Amber Ruffin Show), Margaret Cho (Drop Dead Diva, All-American Girl), Aparna Nancheria (The Great North, A Simple Favour), Tig Notaro (One Mississippi, The Morning Show), Stephanie Allyn (One Mississippi, The L Word: Generation Pr), and Adam Conover (Adam destroys everything, Bojack Horseman)

“YouTube is PBS’ largest digital platform and an important place for new audiences to engage with public media for the first time. YouTube-first series like The Drawing Room with Moe Welch are helping us reach audiences that feel fresh and native to the platform,” said Adam Dilewski, senior director, multiplatform programming PBS. “This series is unlike anything else in our lineup – a charming, funny and often-revealing series that serves as a launchpad for amazing conversations about comedy, creativity and more.”

Produced by Second Peninsula in association with PBS SoCal, THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH is designed as a scalable, social-first format built for digital audiences while maintaining PBS’ commitment to meaningful conversation and creative expression.

“The best conversations usually happen when people forget they’re having one,” says Second Peninsula producer Steve Goldblum. “The drawing room creates enough distraction for guests to stop performing and start being themselves.” It also helps that Mo is one of the funniest people I know and can draw It’s a very unfair combination.”

“We’re thrilled to bring this show to audiences across the country,” said Tamara Gould, Chief Content Officer, PBS SoCal. “We know audiences are spending more time on digital platforms, and we want to meet them there with engaging, enlightening and inspiring programming. The Drawing Room provides a new and innovative way to connect with audiences when thoughtful storytelling does public media at its best.”

Episode Description and Premiere Date:

Episode 1: Brett Goldstein wasn’t ready for this audition

Now streaming PBS YouTube Channel

When your guest is also your friend, the rules change. Brett Goldstein and Moe Welch sketch each other, swapping stories from earlier times. oh mom tryouts, and why great comedy always hurts a little.

Episode 2: Sarah Silverman

Premieres July 10 on the PBS YouTube channel

Sarah Silverman joins Moe for a conversation about mentoring, marriage and the death of Sarah’s father. As they sketch each other, she reflects on how there’s never an age when you don’t stop needing your parents. The exchange is funny, reflective, and quietly moving.

Episode 3: Vijay Gupta

Premieres July 24 on the PBS YouTube channel

Virtuoso violinist Vijay Gupta discovered perfect pitch at three and Oprah was at eight. Now he plays Beethoven on Skid Row and Hallelujah in Moe’s Studio at The Drawing Room.

Episode 4: Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyn

Premieres August 7 on the PBS YouTube channel

Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyn are the first married couple in the drawing room — they skip Moe altogether and draw each other instead. Between bits about their decades-long marriage and “unhinged” parenting, Teague opens up about “Come See Me in the Good Light,” her Sundance-winning documentary on poet Andrea Gibson’s final years, and what it taught her about facing death without fear.

Episode 5: Adam Conover

Premieres August 21st on the PBS YouTube channel

Adam Conover grew up in a house full of scientists — a marine-biologist father, a science-teacher mother — and built a career explaining things to people who didn’t ask. He and Mo fall into the third-grade art-class trauma that led to his painting career, his love of shouting about AI, and why he recently returned to shooting film: “Reality isn’t made of pixels.”

Episode 6: Margaret Cho

It will premiere on September 4 on the PBS YouTube channel

Growing up in her parents’ pioneering gay bookstore in San Francisco, Margaret Cho joined her
His humorous voice was found at the first Pride in 1978 and an open mic where audience members could throw tomatoes at the performers. With Moe, he reflects on anti-authority comedy, chosen family and a lifetime of freedom that embraces exactly who you are.

Episode 7: Demi Adejuyigbe

Premieres September 18 on the PBS YouTube channel

Demi Adezuigwe’s data-scientist parents had a sincere question when she announced she wanted to be a comedian: “Are you funny?” He and Mo debate his 24-hour-old goat (Villain Shakti, mixed reviews), the collaborative joys of the writers’ room, and why he’s not actually worried AI will ever be funny.

Episode 8: John Gabras

It will premiere on October 2 on the PBS YouTube channel

Jon Gabras arrives saying he can’t draw, but quickly proves he’s got plenty of stories. He and Moe talk Long Island, men’s league rugby, why “lifeguarding is so important to me,” and debate whether Moe deserves a Tooth Fairy payout.

Episode 9: Aparna Nancherla

It will premiere on October 16 on the PBS YouTube channel

Aparna Nancherla was such a shy kid that her mother called her to the family’s pizza order just to practice talking to strangers — a fear she turned into a voiceover career and a book about silencing her inner critic. He and Mo swap horror stories from the open-mic trenches and land on his hard-won mantra: Who cares?

THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH Produced by Second Peninsula for PBS. The series is produced and directed by Steve Goldman. The executives in charge of PBS are Adam Dylewski and Estefania de Leon.

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About PBS Digital Studios

PBS Digital Studios produces original programming for YouTube and other digital platforms designed to engage, enlighten and entertain online audiences. PBS Digital Studios Network has more than 30 million subscribers on YouTube, generating an average of 50 million views per month and has achieved more than five billion lifetime views. Currently, PBS Digital Studios has more than a dozen active series, including the Webby Award-winning BE Smart and Crash Course, as well as popular series such as TWO CENTS, EONS and PBS Space Time.

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About PBS SoCal

PBS SoCal Using the power of public media for good, strengthens Southern California’s civic fabric and provides our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported nonprofit organization, PBS SoCal is available to stream on the PBS app and PBS Kids app and reaches approximately 22M viewers across 7 broadcast channels, including 2 primary channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus, and 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to making content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal offers programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases a full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning education, news, environment and arts and culture. PBS SoCal prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community while sharing ideas at private cultural events and community conversations.

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About the second peninsula

Second Peninsula is an independent production company founded by Steve Goldblum and best known for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Short but spectacular. The company specializes in unscripted storytelling that invites audiences to step into someone else’s shoes.

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About PBS

PBSWith more than 330 member stations, giving all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 36 million adults on linear primetime television, 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 56 million viewers on YouTube and 10 million followers on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and the public and take a front-row seat to world-class and drama. PBS’ extensive programming has consistently been honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. As the number one educational media brand, PBS Kids Helps children ages 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Distributed through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and free streaming.pbskids.org And PBS Kids Video AppGames on PBS Kids Games Appand in communities across America. Teachers of children from Pre-K through 12th grade PBS LearningMedia For digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. More information about PBS is available here PBS.orgOne of the top dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagramor through usApplications for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates are available to the presspbs.org/pressroomor follows PBS Communications on X.