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Meagan Johnson

@realreelunscripted

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A look at the world behind vertical dramas through the candid, off-script, and crazy fun adventures of host Meagan Johnson.

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Every time I open my YouTube analytics lately, my jaw drops a little…

Real Reel Unscripted has passed 2.5 MILLION views and 14,000 subscribers. In just the last 28 days, we’ve added 7,700+ subscribers. Like what?! And how?!

I have looked over the numbers. Checked with several people. It’s not bots! It’s not like fake accounts or anything weird…it’s just people AROUND THE GLOBE wanting vertical content! My content gets translated into several different languages! Ugh…I LOVE it.

And yes…I advertise. About $1000/month. I believe in putting what me & my team are building in front of people who might love it. And I think this proves that vertical entertainment is in demand. And the conversation around it is wildly underfed. People don’t just want another vertical to watch. They want to talk about the actors, the writers, the apps, the stories, the tropes, the business and this entire strange, wonderful industry growing around us.

I’m incredibly proud of these numbers. I’m proud of what we’re building. But the number I want next isn’t 20K. I WANT A COMMUNITY! I WANT WAAAAY MORE COMMENTS! But growth often looks this way so I won’t complain. Me and my team are gonna figure out exactly what that looks like and how to do that as we continue to grow.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my little corner of vertical entertainment thus far! We have SO MUCH on the horizon that I cannot wait to share with everyone. The future of vertical entertainment definitely includes RRU!

AN EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY DIRECTOR AND LEAD EDITOR @sassymohen I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM AT IF IT WASN’T FOR HER AND HER EXPERTISE AND HER GUIDANCE AND HER SUPPORT. She is an absolute rockstar and I am so glad to have her building alongside with me. by @realreelunscripted

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9 days ago

A year ago I was sitting on my couch obsessively writing reviews about the wonderfully chaotic world of vertical dramas.

Today, there’s a Deadline article announcing Unscripted with Meagan Johnson.

That is a sentence I genuinely never expected to read.

What started as RealReelDrama became friendships, conversations, industry events, interviews, and a community that welcomed me far more quickly than I ever imagined.

Unscripted was born from a simple idea: what if we gave audiences a chance to get to know the people behind these stories? The actors, writers, directors, and creators who are helping build this rapidly growing space.

I’m incredibly grateful to Inverted for believing in the project, to every guest who trusted me enough (so far) to sit down for a conversation, and to everyone who has followed along on this unexpected adventure.

We’re just getting started. ❤️ by @realreelunscripted

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4 months ago

Episode 104, but make it behind the scenes. 🎬

There was the interview…and then there was everything happening around the interview. 😂

A little chaos, a lot of laughing, and somehow we did, in fact, make an episode.

Come behind the scenes with Eric Guilmette and me, then watch the full Episode 104 of Real Reel Unscripted on YouTube.

Because apparently I take “unscripted” very seriously.

Watch Episode 104 on YouTube. by @realreelunscripted

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3 days ago

POV: You spend enough time talking about vertical dramas and eventually someone puts YOU in one.

This was my Cameo Day ALMOST A YEAR AGO with @shortical , and I was equal parts excited, exhausted, nervous and trying desperately to remember one very important instruction:

DO. NOT. LOOK. AT. THE. CAMERA.

Do you know how difficult that is when there is suddenly a camera RIGHT THERE?! 😂

But truly, getting to step onto a vertical set and see how much work goes into creating these stories was such a gift. These teams WORK, you guys. Watching everyone do what they do behind the scenes gave me an entirely new appreciation for this wonderfully weird industry I somehow found myself in.

I remember ending this day tired beyond belief but mostly just incredibly grateful.

And apparently I said, “Maybe there’ll be more to come.”

Past Meagan really did love a little foreshadowing, didn’t she? 👀🎬

Go watch Forgive Me Father to see me in THREE different scenes! Sooooo fun… by @realreelunscripted

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5 days ago

And somehow, we made it here.

What started with me grieving my dad, doom scrolling in bed, and accidentally falling into the completely unhinged world of vertical dramas eventually became Real Reel Drama.

Then came the reviews. The actors in my comments. The community. The fan panel. LA. Verticon. Interviews. Red carpets. And more invitations back to LA than I ever expected.

And somewhere in all of that, I realized I didn’t just want to talk about this industry from the outside anymore.

I wanted to create something.

So I dove in head first and built Real Reel Unscripted.

And yes, it really is unscripted. We have talking points. We have an arc. Sometimes we have to say something twice because a camera missed it. 😂 But so many of my favorite moments are the ones nobody planned.

That was exactly what I wanted this show to feel like.

But “unscripted” never meant I wasn’t serious about building it.

I wanted this to be bigger than a fan with a camera. So I built a team. Editing. Sound. Color. Creative direction. PR. Social media. People who are helping me turn this weird little idea in my head into an actual show.

Because if I was going to do this, I was going ALL IN.

The vertical world moves fast. Miss the cliffhanger, miss the paywall, and you’re already behind.

So I jumped.

And that is how a woman who accidentally discovered vertical dramas during one of the hardest seasons of her life somehow ended up creating Real Reel Unscripted.

What a freaking plot twist.

Thanks for coming along for Meagan’s Vertical Journey. ❤️ by @realreelunscripted

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6 days ago

New directing work: Ep 4 of @RealReelUnscripted is LIVE 🎬✨

Hosted by Meagan Johnson, directed by me, this episode stars @EricGuilmette, one of vertical drama’s most recognizable leading men (50+ dramas and counting).

We go behind the scenes for a candid, funny look at his career, his creative life, and what really happens when I call cut... but the cameras keep rolling 👀

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/qYsn_UK2piA

DP… @meg.weck
Thank you to the whole cast & crew, and our fearless leader Meagan Johnson 🙌

#RealReelUnscripted #VerticalDrama #BehindTheScenes #NewEpisode #DirectorLife taken in Los Angeles, California by @realreelunscripted

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7 days ago

Oh, past Meagan. You had NO idea. 😂

We found this video from right before Real Reel Unscripted officially entered the world, and watching it back now feels like opening a tiny little time capsule.

I knew I had found my lane. I knew this idea gave me energy. I knew I wanted to build something that let me have the conversations I was already having behind the scenes and bring all of you into them.

What I didn’t know was what RRU would become once we actually started doing it.

The team has grown. The conversations have gotten bigger. The ideas have gotten bigger. And somehow, I still get to occupy my favorite role: asking questions, chasing the big picture and letting people who actually know how to edit handle the editing. 😂

There is something very surreal about hearing myself say, “We’ll see where it goes from there.”

Well… here we are.

And we’re definitely not done yet. 🎬 by @realreelunscripted

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7 days ago

BTS from ‘A Very Vertical Halloween’ 🎃👻

Episode 5 of @RealReelUnscripted drops October 7th, this shoot was such a blast to direct 🕯️

Swipe for a look behind the scenes 🎬

Major thank you to the whole cast & crew and our fearless leader sir Meagan Johnson! @realreeldrama

Photos by @dudestin

@lawsongreyson
@bmarsz
@phaeamara
@seanstar75
@erictaylorguilmette
Connor Ficcadenti
@meg.weck
@johnadamkrueger
@vinceyearly
@ericsaudio
@itsleerach
@darrinbarber
@ameliajauregui_
@cilffchen
@tarasandersbrooks
@jolsoncreative
@beautyfxorcist taken in Los Angeles, California by @realreelunscripted

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10 days ago

We understand… it’s a lot to remember. 😜

Go watch Eric’s episode on YouTube now!

The link is in my bio. by @realreelunscripted

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23 days ago

THE INTERVIEW(S) with Eric Guilmette is officially HERE.

And because simply releasing an episode apparently wasn’t enough…we’ve hidden IOUs throughout the interview. 👀

How many can you find?

@erictaylorguilmette has starred in countless vertical dramas—but outside of being one of the most recognizable faces in verticals, he’s also a bestselling poet, jewelry designer, entrepreneur…and an exceptionally good sport when it comes to being interviewed by someone whose love language is mild harassment.

Especially when she has to interview him twice.

Our first interview happened in London. Half of it survived. Half of it did not. So Eric graciously agreed to round two in Los Angeles—and somehow a technical disaster turned into an episode I love even more than the one we originally planned.

There’s poetry. Country music. Vertical drama. A pesky homeoener (🤭) A few things I probably owe Eric an apology for.

And a LOT of IOUs.

Watch THE INTERVIEW(S) now on YouTube (link in my bio)

Then come back and tell me:

HOW MANY IOUs DID YOU FIND? What do Eric & I owe each other?

And yes. There is an actual answer.

More from our couple of days together coming soon.

REAL REEL UNSCRIPTED
Created & Hosted by Meagan Johnson
Directed by @sassymohen by @realreelunscripted

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25 days ago

When Eric Guilmette and I sat down together in London this past April, we had one of my favorite conversations—country music (his love, decidedly NOT mine), a poem I wrote for him that somehow became an actual canvas, and a little glimpse into one of my favorite pastimes: mildly tormenting Eric.

Because teasing is my love language. Just a teeny bit.

Unfortunately, the first half of that interview was lost to the microphone gods. But the second half, my favorite part, survived (thank you!).

So when we started building The Interview(s) episode, we knew we wanted to find a way to bring London back—and our little dream-sequence/flashback was born.

Here’s a peek at what survived. And yes, the poem is real. And yes, I still have it. Maybe I’ll share it if you ask nicely.

The Interview(s) with Eric Guilmette
September 2 on YouTube
Coming shortly thereafter to the Inverted app.

Behind the Scenes. Beyond the Drama.
Directed by Sassy Mohen by @realreelunscripted

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a month ago

A message from “Cute” & the “Very.”

Apparently, from multiple reports in my DMs…we’re cute. Correction: I’m Cute. Eric is “Very”. We have established this on camera. 😜

And the “Very” has a BIG week ahead…

September 1: Verticals: The Movie
September 2: Eric Guilmette on Real Reel Unscripted
September 3: aTwist officially launches (Watch Buried Alive: Back for Revenge & Hollywood Starlet)

Three days. Three drops. One of our favorite vertical leading men.

Eric would also like everyone to know that somewhere in the middle of all of this, he allegedly has a haircut. Do I believe him? Not particularly. But in the spirit of journalistic integrity, we’re reporting it anyway.

See you September 2nd for our interview on @realreelunscripted YouTube channel and the vertical version on the @invertedapp by the end of the week!

Real Reel Unscripted
Behind the Scenes. Beyond the Drama.
Directed by @sassymohen by @realreelunscripted

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a month ago