PBS Digital Studios and PBS SoCal Announce New Original Series THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH
Select programming will also be available to stream on the free PBS App, PBS SoCal’s YouTube channel and pbssocal.org. Members of PBS SoCal get extended access with PBS Passport.
PBS Digital Studios and PBS SoCal, announce THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH, a new interview series that replaces the traditional talk-show desk with an easel. The biweekly digital series is now streaming on the PBS YouTube channel.
Hosted by comedian and New Yorker cartoonist Mo Welch, THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO 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 one another while discussing their lives, work and creative journeys. As the portraits take shape, so does a candid conversation. Guests open up in unexpected ways, sharing childhood memories, creative hurdles, and moments of self-discovery. Each episode ends with a portrait reveal, offering a playful and personal look at how the host and guest see one another.
"When I was ten, I wanted to be a cartoonist and play in the WNBA," said Mo Welch, Host of THE DRAWING ROOM. "One of those dreams is finally coming true. I get to chat with talented people while they draw me.”
Guests span the creative spectrum—actors, musicians, writers—each bringing their own perspective to the easel. Through these focused exchanges, THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH reveals that creativity can be a powerful way to break down walls and connect on a human level. The first episodes feature actor Brett Goldstein (Shrinking, Ted Lasso), comedian Sarah Silverman (Wreck It Ralph, Bob’s Burgers) and musician Vijay Gupta. Additional guests appearing in the series include comedians Jon Gabrus (Game Over, Man!, Younger), Demi Adejuyigbe (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 Favor), Tig Notaro (One Mississippi, The Morning Show), Stephanie Allynne (One Mississippi, The L Word: Generation Q), and Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything, BoJack Horseman).
“YouTube is PBS’s biggest digital platform and an important space for new viewers to engage with public media for the first time. YouTube-first series like THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH are helping us reach those audiences in ways that feel fresh and native to the platform,” said Adam Dylewski, Senior Director, Multiplatform Programming at PBS. “This series is unlike anything else in our lineup—a charming, funny and often revealing series that turns drawing into a launchpad for surprising conversations about comedy, creativity and much 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's commitment to meaningful conversation and creative expression.
"The best conversations usually happen when people forget they're having one," said Second Peninsula producer Steve Goldbloom. "THE DRAWING ROOM creates just 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. That's a pretty unfair combination."
"We're thrilled to bring this program to audiences across the country," said Tamara Gould, Chief Content Officer at PBS SoCal. "We know viewers 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 fresh and inventive way to connect with audiences while remaining rooted in the thoughtful storytelling public media does best."
Episode descriptions and premiere dates:
Episode 1: Brett Goldstein was NOT Ready for This Audition
Now streaming on PBS YouTube Channel
When your guest is also your friend, the rules change. Brett Goldstein and Mo Welch sketch each other while swapping stories about the before times, Mamma Mia tryouts, and why great comedy always hurts a little.
Episode 2: Sarah Silverman
Premieres July 10 on PBS YouTube Channel
Sarah Silverman joins Mo for a conversation about mentors, marriage, and the death of Sarah’s father. As they sketch each other, she reflects on how there’s never an age when you stop needing your parents. The exchange is funny, reflective, and quietly moving.
Episode 3: Vijay Gupta
Premieres July 24 on PBS YouTube Channel
Virtuoso violinist Vijay Gupta discovered perfect pitch at three and was on Oprah at eight. Now he plays Beethoven on Skid Row, and Hallelujah in Mo’s studio on The Drawing Room.
Episode 4: Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne
Premieres August 7 on PBS YouTube Channel
Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne are The Drawing Room’s first married couple — they skip Mo entirely and draw each other instead. Between bits about their decades of marriage and “unhinged” parenting, Tig opens up about “Come See Me in the Good Light,” her Sundance-winning documentary on poet Andrea Gibson’s final year, and what it taught her about facing death without fear.
Episode 5: Adam Conover
Premieres August 21 on PBS YouTube Channel
Adam Conover grew up in a house full of scientists — a marine-biologist dad, a science-educator mom — and built a career explaining things to people who didn’t ask. He and Mo get into the third-grade art-class trauma that ended his painting career, his love of yelling about AI, and why he recently switched back to shooting on film: “reality is not made of pixels.”
Episode 6: Margaret Cho
Premieres September 4 on PBS YouTube Channel
Raised in her parents' pioneering gay bookstore in San Francisco, Margaret Cho attended her
first Pride in 1978 and found her comedic voice at an open mic where audience members could throw tomatoes at the performers. With Mo, she reflects on anti-authoritarian comedy, chosen family, and the lifelong freedom that comes from embracing exactly who you are.
Episode 7: Demi Adejuyigbe
Premieres September 18 on PBS YouTube Channel
Demi Adejuyigbe’s data-scientist parents had one earnest question when he announced he wanted to be a comedian: “Are you funny?” He and Mo debate his 24-hour-old goatee (villain energy, mixed reviews), the collaborative joy of writers’ rooms, and why he’s not actually worried AI will ever be funny.
Episode 8: Jon Gabrus
Premieres October 2 on PBS YouTube Channel
Jon Gabrus arrives convinced he can't draw, but quickly proves he's got plenty of stories. He and Mo talk Long Island, men's league rugby, why "lifeguarding is super important to me," and debate whether Mo deserves a Tooth Fairy payout.
Episode 9: Aparna Nancherla
Premieres October 16 on PBS YouTube Channel
Aparna Nancherla was such a shy kid that her mom made her call in the family’s pizza order just to practice talking to strangers — a fear she’s since parlayed into a career of voiceovers and a book about silencing her inner critic. She and Mo swap horror stories from the open-mic trenches and land on her hard-won mantra: who cares?
THE DRAWING ROOM WITH MO WELCH is produced for PBS by Second Peninsula. Series producer and director is Steve Goldman. Executives in charge for PBS are Adam Dylewski and Estefanía De Leon.
About PBS Digital Studios
PBS Digital Studios produces original programming for YouTube and other digital platforms designed to engage, enlighten, and entertain online audiences. The PBS Digital Studios network has more than 30 million subscribers on YouTube, generating an average of 50 million views a month, and has acquired more than five billion lifetime views. Currently, PBS Digital Studios has over a dozen active series, including the Webby Award-winning BE SMART and CRASH COURSE, as well as popular series like TWO CENTS, EONS and PBS SPACE TIME.
About PBS SoCal
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal is available to stream on the PBS app and the PBS Kids App and reaches nearly 22M viewers across 7 Broadcast channels — including 2 primary channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus and 5 digital subchannels. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal offers programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.
About Second Peninsula
Second Peninsula is an independent production company founded by Steve Goldbloom and best known for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Brief But Spectacular. The company specializes in unscripted storytelling that invites audiences to step into someone else’s shoes.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 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 public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook, Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.