What to know
- Launched in January 2021, The Brandon Gonez Show started as a passion project during lockdown and has grown into Canada’s #1 online destination for news, entertainment, and conversation.
- Hosted by broadcaster Brandon Gonez, the show delivers “real news you can use” by combining factual reporting with relatable, community-driven storytelling that speaks with audiences, not at them.
- The show now averages more than 20 million monthly views across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, with a combined social following of over 500,000.
- From covering major cultural moments to amplifying everyday voices, the team remains committed to serving the community while planning major expansion in the next five to ten years.
The Brandon Gonez Show is marking its five-year anniversary this month, and celebrating delivering the hottest topics and conversations in Canadian news and entertainment.
Launched in January 2021 by Gonez Media Inc. (GMI), The Brandon Gonez Show has grown over the years to become Canada’s #1 online destination for thought-provoking topics and conversation. Hosted by beloved broadcaster, Brandon Gonez, the YouTube show which also lives on every major social platform including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, averages more than 22 million monthly views and a total social media following of over 820,000
Now Toronto spoke with Gonez and Show Producer Hope Dos Santos for a look back at how far the show has come and a look ahead to where it’s going.
In the thick of the pandemic, when others were learning how to make sourdough bread or planting their balcony herb gardens, Gonez was cooking up a passion project.
“We struck when the iron was hot,” Gonez tells Now Toronto.
“It was an opportunity because everybody was home looking for content, and I wanted to try and create content that was entertaining, informational, inspiring – that met all the buckets and facets of who I am as a journalist.”
Up until then, Gonez had reported for Canadian television news channels for several years, bringing breaking news to local and national audiences.
Although he was doing what he loved, he felt an itch.
“I felt like there was something missing,” he says. “For the community; for people to feel like their voices are being heard; for more authentic stories.”
Today, The Brandon Gonez Show brings its audience “real news you can use, not your grandparents’ news.” According to Gonez, that means delivering factual information in a more relatable and authentic way.
“We’re not speaking at you, we’re speaking with you.”
Dos Santos says the show’s goal is to be different from legacy media.
“Our purpose is to serve the people, to amplify voices that don’t always get the opportunity to be heard in the mainstream media,” she tells Now Toronto.
In the last five years, The BG Show has covered everything from entertainment to municipal and national politics and social injustices. They have sat down with politicians, artists, and covered big events like the Juno Awards and the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series Championship run in 2025.
Through all of the big scoops and the red carpets, Gonez says it’s the stories about locals that have the biggest impact.
“When we get to cover stories of everyday people in the community, that always sits with me,” he says. “Yes, we love to entertain but we are also here on a mission: to tell original stories and represent the people, to be the voice of the people.”
Dos Santos says The BG Show wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the community that supports, watches, and interacts with them.
“For us to continue to be successful, we need to always keep the door open for the people to know that their voices matter.”
Looking ahead to the next five to ten years, Gonez says he has “big plans.”
“The first five years was [about] building a strong foundation. … Now we’re gonna pour some gasoline on that fire; and make it even bigger.”
Through the aspirations, Gonez says one thing will remain constant.
“We’re never going to stay stale. What we will stay true to is being the voice for the people.”
GMI is the parent company of Now Toronto.
