I’ve been a Nebula subscriber since May 2021, about 2 years after the service launched and about three years before the writing of this article. In that time, it’s become my preferred platform for finding and watching independently-produced videos. I still frequent YouTube to discover new channels and follow some that aren’t part of Nebula, but one of the first things I do after smashing that subscribe button is check if they are also on Nebula.
If you are a new subscriber to Nebula, it’s likely you joined because you liked the idea of watching one or two of your favorite YouTubers without ads, or maybe because they told you about some Nebula-exclusive content that you couldn’t live without. Once you’re there, though, it might be tricky to decide which of the more than 175 channels you want to check out next.
The following list is not meant to represent the “best” of Nebula. These are the channels that I currently watch and enjoy the most, and if you are like me (and I know I am), you might like them too.
Non-Disclaimer: The links below are not affiliate links, and they do not contain tracking information of any king. I receive no compensation you click them or if you decide to subscribe. I also have not been compensated by Nebula for this article in any way.
Top Picks
These first few channels are my absolute favorites. I watch almost every video on these channels as soon as they come out.
Patrick (H) Willems
Patrick H. Willems deserves my first mention because he is the reason I subscribed to Nebula in the first place. His immaculately produced videos span topics including best-of lists, exhaustively researched career retrospectives, and short films of his own. The writing of the essays is insightful, with solid thematic through-lines that keep even potentially dry topics interesting.
In 2019, Willems began framing all of his episodes with narrative segments. They related only loosely to the content of the essays, but collectively they told a continuing story that would come to be known as “The Charl Saga”. The story ran until May 2021, then Willems announced that the series finale would be in the form of a full-length movie — available exclusively on Nebula. I signed up immediately and never looked back. (I had mostly lost interest in The Charl Saga by the time the movie was released more than a year later.)
Recommended Patrick (H) Willems Videos
- Who Is Killing Cinema? A Murder Mystery — Many of Willems’ best videos are similar in format to this one: a deep dive into an interesting topic, presented with a clever concept.
- Patrick Explains PADDINGTON (And Why It’s Great) — This video is a good entry point in the “Patrick Explains” series, and to Willems’ recurring appreciation of the Paddington movies.
- MY [Patrick’s] REVIEW OF 2019 (Season Premiere) — If you want to follow The Charl Saga from its beginning, this is the video to start with.
Hbomberguy
In a certain corner of YouTube, and the internet in general, Hbomberguy needs no introduction. He first made a name for himself in the mid-2010s with videos debunking and hilariously mocking prominent alt-right YouTubers, and with provocatively unpopular — but well-argued — opinions about video games (for example: Fallout 3 is Garbage (And Here’s Why)).
Today, he is best known for his long form investigations into topics both important and trivial. His videos are often released months apart, but they are worth the wait. His latest, an exposé about plagiarism on YouTube, was so thorough and definitive that it ended the career of at least one famous YouTuber and seriously damaged a few others. That video was nearly 4 hours long, yet it held my attention for the entire run time (though I admit I had to watch it across several sittings).
Recommended Hbomberguy Videos
- Plagiarism and You(Tube) — The aforementioned, industry-shaking exposé
- Fallout: New Vegas is Genius (And Here’s Why) — This video made me a die-hard fan of a game I have, as of today, never played.
- Climate Denial: A Measured Response — If you aren’t ready to commit to a multi-hour epic just yet, this video will give you a sense of Hbomberguy’s style and substance in less than 45 minutes.
Maggie Mae Fish
Maggie Mae Fish does critical analysis of movies and television, focusing on the ways that gender, sexual identity, race and socioeconomics have shaped and continue to shape the media landscape. That may sound dry and academic, but it never feels that way thanks to Fish’s charismatic screen presence, excellent writing, and humor.
Recommended Maggie Mae Fish Videos
- What Did David Lynch Mean with Twin Peaks?, a.k.a. “Twin Peaks Actually Explained (No But For Real)” — in this two-part series, Fish explains how the three incarnations of Twin Peaks were pointed responses to and subversions of the genres that they ostensibly belonged to.
- Unrated — A six-episode series, described by Nebula as a dive into “the history of sex, sexuality, and gender in film, from the silent era to sexploitation to modern erotic movies.”
Filmjoy
The Filmjoy channel includes several series and creators, but the headliner is “Movies with Mikey”. For 10 years now, Mikey Neumann has been producing videos about movies and the movie industry that are saturated with a personality that is mostly Neumann’s, but also feels like it belongs to the series in a way that transcends its creator.
Recommended Filmjoy Videos
I’m not going to call out any specific videos for Filmjoy for two reasons. First, they are all good. Second, many of my actual favorites are about “controversial” movies and filmmakers, and I don’t want anyone to be turned off by an opinion they disagree with before giving the channel a chance. Look through the list of videos and pick one that sounds interesting to you. Then do that again, because you’ll definitely want to after the first one.
The following channels are listed in no particular order, and range from occasional watches to favorites of mine that I don’t recommend to everyone.
- Man Carrying Thing — Very short skits that make me laugh.
- The Cursed Judge — Essays about video games, usually under 30 minutes
- Thomas Flight - Movie and TV analysis.
- Tantacrul — Hilarious and informative, covering music history, music composition, and software interface design.
- NerdSync - General nerd media topics. Recently preoccupied with Scooby Doo. Not to be confused with Nerdstalgic.
- F.D. Signifier - Thought-provoking essays on a variety of cultural topics with an emphasis on the black experience. The creator used to be a high school teacher, and it shows in the way he can patiently explain topics without condescending.
- Tom Nicholas — A general-interest essayist who does deep dives on all sorts of cool stuff. I’d describe him as “Hbomberguy-esque”.
- Game Maker’s Toolkit — For most of this channel’s 7-year existence, host Mark Brown has made videos about game design, drawing from observation, research, and conversations with professional game designers. Recently, he began work on a game of his own while documenting the process.
- Tale Foundry — Essays about themes, character archetypes, and storytelling devices found in fiction.
- Razbuten — Essays and reviews about video games. A highlight is the “Gaming for Non-Gamers” series, where he has his wife play games and shares what it teaches him about game design.
- Todd in the Shadows — A true video essay veteran going back to the Channel Awesome days (if you know, you know), Todd digs into pop music history and current events.
- T1J — T1J, a.k.a “The One Janitor”, built his audience with videos about race in politics and culture. His content was similar enough to F.D. Signifier’s that there used to be a running gag that people couldn’t tell them apart. Since 2022, he’s pivoted to fun and interesting pop-culture topics like story arcs in Boy Meets World and the value of Tom Hanks’ “David S. Pumpkins” character on SNL.
- Philosophy Tube — Writer and actor Abigail Thorne creates video essays about relevant cultural and political topics. Her videos have extremely high — and occasionally even lavish — production values and a staggering number of citations. Abigail is a trans woman, which is relevant because she publicly announced her transition in 2021, but had already been making Philosophy Tube videos for years before that. The host of the pre-2021 videos is the same person you see in today’s videos.
- Lindsay Ellis — Lindsay Ellis has been making videos about movies, literature, and other media since 2008. As you might expect of a prominent Woman On The Internet for that many years, she has seen things you people wouldn’t believe.