Shane Madej
American Internet personality (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shane Alexander Madej (born May 16, 1986) is an American Internet personality, paranormal investigator, and co-founder of digital entertainment company, Watcher Entertainment. Madej rose to prominence for co-starring in the YouTube true crime and supernatural series BuzzFeed Unsolved.
May 16, 1986
paranormal investigator
Shane Madej | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shane Alexander Madej May 16, 1986 Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia College Chicago |
| Occupations | Internet personality paranormal investigator |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse |
Sara Rubin (m. 2023) |
Early life
Madej was born on May 16, 1986, in Schaumburg, Illinois to Mark and Sherry Madej. He has one brother, Scott.[1]
He went to Northern Illinois University for two years before attending Columbia College Chicago for editing.[2][3] Following his graduation, Madej worked several jobs including producing corporate videos, working in public-access television and at Starbucks.[4]
Career
BuzzFeed (2014–2019)
Madej joined BuzzFeed as an intern before later joining the unscripted team.[4] In December 2016, Madej took over as the co-host in BuzzFeed Unsolved with Ryan Bergara. He made his first appearance in the episode "The Secret Society Of The Illuminati". The show was split into two separate series, Unsolved: True Crime and Unsolved: Supernatural. The former featured Bergara presenting unsolved true crime cases to Madej and presenting possible theories,[5][6] while Supernatural consisted of the pair investigating reportedly haunted locations and attempting to elicit responses for paranormal proof. The show became one of Buzzfeed's most successful series, generating over a billion video views and 16.6 billion minutes of total watch time.[7]
Madej was also the creator and host of the successful educational BuzzFeed show, Ruining History.[8] This show focused on Madej telling unbelievable stories of history to a panel of other BuzzFeed employees – with Bergara and Sara Rubin being consistent panelists.
Madej left BuzzFeed as a full-time employee in 2019. In 2020, he and Bergara signed a contract to finish the final seasons of Unsolved, which ended in 2021.[9]
Watcher Entertainment (2019–present)
In 2019, Madej co-founded a digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with fellow ex-Buzzfeed employees, Bergara and Steven Lim.[8] The trio served as co-CEOs until 2023, when both Madej and Bergara stepped down to focus on the creation of content.[10]
The channel hosts are a variety of shows starring Madej, Bergara, and Lim, spanning cooking, mystery, gaming, and horror.[8] Included is Unsolved's successors – Mystery Files and Ghost Files – which have both proved successful.[11]
Madej is the creator of the web series, Puppet History, a spiritual successor to his Buzzfeed show Ruining History.[9][12] The series consists of Madej starring as The Professor, a puppet, quizzing Bergara and a special guest on peculiar historical events and people.[13] Madej also portrays a large variety of different characters on the show, including at least one new puppet every episode, an evil genie, and a fictionalized version of himself.[14] The show received an Honoree Award at the 2022 Webby Awards for a Science & Education Channel[15] and remains one of Watcher's most popular shows.
In 2023, Madej and Bergara went on a national tour to premiere the second season of Ghost Files.[16][17] In April 2025, Madej appeared as himself on the ABC show The Rookie. He and Bergara portrayed themselves in the midst of a paranormal investigation for an episode of Ghost Files.[18]
Personal life
In September 2023, Madej married his longtime girlfriend, Sara Rubin.[19]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Beautiful Day | Male Hiker | Short Film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | S.W.A.T. | Ira | Episode: "Gunpowder Treason" |
| 2025 | The Rookie | Himself | Episode: "A Deadly Secret" |