Sam Denby#Half as Interesting

{{Infobox YouTube personality

| name = Sam Denby

| logo =

| logo_caption =

| image = Sam Denby in December 2023 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Denby in 2023

| birth_name = Samuel Robert Denby

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1998|03|17}}{{cite web |url= https://nebula.tv/videos/hai-we-have-no-idea-why-hes-using-the-ruler |title= We have no idea why he's using the ruler - 1. The chase begins |date= February 16, 2022 |at= Timestamp 1:00 |author=Half as Interesting's Crime Spree |website= Nebula TV |url-access= subscription }}{{cite web |url= https://nebula.tv/haicrimespree |title= Crime Spree: The World's Most Illegal Game Show |website= Nebula TV |series= Half as Interesting |url-access= subscription }}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., US

| occupation = YouTuber

| channel_website = {{unbulleted list |

{{URL|https://wendoverproductions.com/}}

}}

| channels = {{unbulleted list |

Wendover Productions
Half As Interesting
Jet Lag: The Game

}}

| years_active = 2015–present

| genre = Educational entertainment

| subscribers = {{unbulleted list |

4.73 million (Wendover Productions)
2.79 million (Half as Interesting)
865 thousand (Jet Lag: The Game)
160 thousand (Extremities)
56.5 thousand (Sam from Wendover)

}}

| views = {{unbulleted list |

736 million (Wendover Productions)
707 million (Half as Interesting)
86 million (Jet Lag: The Game)
1.76 million (Extremities)
753 thousand (Sam from Wendover)

}}

| network =

| silver_button = yes

| silver_year = 2016

| gold_button = yes

| gold_year = 2018

| stats_update = February 18, 2025

}}

Samuel Robert Denby{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/stories/sam.from.wendover/3529534127760467926/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=www.instagram.com}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |fix-attempted=yes |url=}} (born March 17, 1998) is an American YouTuber who created the edutainment YouTube channels Wendover Productions and Half as Interesting, and the travel competition show Jet Lag: The Game, alongside other projects. Across all of Denby's channels, he has accumulated more than 1 billion views and more than 7.8 million subscribers. He is the chief content officer of streaming service Nebula.

Career

=Wendover Productions=

Created in 2010, Denby's primary channel is Wendover Productions. {{As of|2025|March|29|df=US|post=,}} that channel has over 4.76 million subscribers, 244 published videos, and more than 731 million total video views.{{Cite web |last=Youtube.com |title=Wendover Productions - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/@Wendoverproductions/about |access-date=May 14, 2023 |website=www.youtube.com}} His videos most commonly feature the topics of logistics, most notably those of aviation, as well as geography, economics,{{Cite news |last=Dudley |first=David |date=August 19, 2020 |title=Bad Trains, Explained |url=https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2016/08/bad-trains-explained/496742/ |access-date=June 18, 2020 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com}} and the military. The Wendover Productions video about tourism in Iceland received significant attention from Iceland's national newspapers.{{Cite web|last=Hafstað|first=Vala|date=June 7, 2019|title=Iceland's Tourism Explosion Explained|url=https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/nature_and_travel/2019/06/07/iceland_s_tourism_explosion_explained_video|access-date=August 3, 2022|website=Iceland Monitor}} Wendover Productions is based in Aspen, Colorado.{{cite news |last1=Reynolds |first1=Jacqueline |title=Film takes a deep dive into river issues |url=https://www.aspendailynews.com/arts_and_entertainment/film-takes-a-deep-dive-into-river-issues/article_ca030f76-a4ce-11ec-ab12-2349265a9b40.html |access-date=September 21, 2022 |work=Aspen Daily News |language=en}}

= Half as Interesting =

Launched on August 26, 2017, Denby's second YouTube channel, Half as Interesting, publishes weekly releases on an unrestricted range of curious topics delivered in a witty style. The videos are often in the 5-10 minute range,{{cn|date=December 2024}} and are dedicated to a single little-known topic. According to the launch announcement, the channel continues the well-liked coverage of topics from the Wikipedia:Unusual articles list, referred to as "That Wikipedia List" or TWL, which was previously published on the Wendover Productions channel, but doesn't restrict its scope to it.{{cite web |title=TWL is back! (But not here...) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaGG50laHgI |publisher=Wendover Productions |website=YouTube.com |date=August 31, 2017}} {{As of|2025|January|2|df=US|post=,}} the channel has over 2.77 million subscribers, 493 published videos and more than 700 million views.{{Cite web |title=Half as Interesting |url=https://www.youtube.com/@halfasinteresting/about |website=YouTube.com |access-date=March 29, 2024}}

=''Extremities''=

In June 2019, Denby created a scripted podcast called Extremities about the logistics of living in the world's most isolated and populated locations.{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=Richard |date=July 5, 2019 |title='Extremities': taking you to the world's most isolated places |language=en-NZ |work=Radio New Zealand |agency=The Podcast Hour |format=Audio |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-podcast-hour/audio/2018702810/extremities-taking-you-to-the-world-s-most-isolated-places |access-date=December 20, 2019}} The show's format has since been modified into short documentaries exclusive to the streaming service Nebula with the same concept.

=''Jet Lag: The Game''=

{{Quote box|"It is a brutally exhausting show to film. Imagine a bad travel day where you end up waiting between flights on connections and going in and out of airports all day."|Sam Denby, on Jet Lag: The Game|align=right|width=300px|salign = right}}

Denby's YouTube channel Jet Lag: The Game hosts a travel competition show created by Denby and Half as Interesting's writers, Ben Doyle (the son of writer Larry Doyle) and Adam Chase.{{Cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Pearse |title=This Travel Game Takes Connect Four to the Extreme |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/worlds-largest-connect-four-game-jet-lag-wendover-denby-interview/ |date=June 29, 2022 |access-date=July 12, 2022 |issn=1059-1028}} Inspired by The Amazing Race, the season usually consists of three or four players (with the fourth player being another YouTuber).

The show was nominated for Best Editing at the 13th Streamy Awards.

All air travel on the show is carbon-offset by a multiple of 10 via Gold Standard carbon credits.{{cite news |last1=Griffiths |first1=James |title=Are travel-centric reality shows like The Amazing Race worth their carbon footprint? |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/article-are-travel-game-shows-conscious-enough/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=September 16, 2022 |language=en-CA}} {{As of|2025|January|2|df=US|post=,}} the channel has over 775 thousand subscribers, 73 videos, and more than 79 million total video views.{{Cite web |title=Jet Lag: The Game - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/@jetlagthegame/about |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=www.youtube.com}} The episodes were released on Nebula one week earlier than YouTube, causing large spikes to Nebula's usage traffic.{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=JSam |title=Jet Lag: The Traffic |url=https://blog.nebula.tv/jet-lag-the-traffic/ |access-date=October 8, 2023 |date=January 13, 2023 |language=en-CA}}

= Nebula =

On August 25, 2023, Nebula announced that they had appointed Denby as their chief content officer.{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2023 |title=Nebula taps Wendover Productions creator Sam Denby as its chief content officer |url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/08/25/nebula-taps-sam-denby-wendover-productions-chief-content-officer/ |access-date=August 25, 2023 |website=Tubefilter |language=en-US}} Nebula CEO Dave Wiskus stated, "the process for developing Nebula Originals should be creator-led, so we turned to a creator with a solid track record for format development across production styles and genres to lead the charge on content as we continue to expand our Originals slate for Nebula." Denby also holds a minority stake in the content distribution platform.{{Cite press release |last=Nebula |title=NEBULA ELEVATES TOP CREATOR SAM DENBY TO CCO |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nebula-elevates-top-creator-sam-denby-to-cco-301909853.html |access-date=February 11, 2024 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}

=''The Getaway''=

On April 8, 2024, Denby's production company, Wendover Productions, announced production on The Getaway, a reality game show which premiered exclusively on Nebula on July 10, 2024.{{cite news |last1=Maas |first1=Jennifer |title='Jet Lag: The Game' Creators to Launch New Travel Competition 'The Getaway' on Nebula This Summer (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jet-lag-the-game-new-show-getaway-premiere-date-nebula-1235956944/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |work=Variety |date=April 8, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://x.com/wendoverpro/status/1803437610578157790 |title=Basically @WatchNebula paid me to gaslight creators into thinking they were on a different show than they actually were. The Getaway: coming July 10th. |last=Denby |first=Sam |date=June 19, 2024 |website= |publisher=X |access-date=June 21, 2024}} The game involves six content creators competing on a road trip through the American West. The contestants are led to believe that there is one secret saboteur among them (much like The Mole or The Traitors), with the rest of them working collaboratively in challenges they are tasked to complete during their trip. In actuality, all six contestants are told that they are the saboteur. Denby, Wiskus, and Trenton Waterson executive produced the project. Denby also directed, with Doyle and Chase involved in production.

Personal life

Denby was born and raised in Washington, D.C.{{cite web |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=E0ejkkFT3V0&t=1176 | title=We Raced To Visit The Most US States In 100 Hours | website=YouTube | date=December 14, 2022 |access-date=December 17, 2022}} In 2018, Denby stated he had been living in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the past two years for university.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N3aZTT3TRw |title=A Moderately Successful Face Reveal |date=March 27, 2018 |last=Denby |first=Sam |type=Video |language=en |publisher=Sam from Wendover |time=1:25 |access-date=April 6, 2018 |via=YouTube}}{{rp|at=1:32}} {{As of|2018|April|post=,}} he was studying international business.{{Cite web |last=Denby |first=Sam |title=Economics has too much math. I studied International Business. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/WendoverProductions/comments/87iznp/face_reveal_thread/dwd86pv/ |access-date=April 6, 2018 |website=Reddit |date=March 27, 2018 |language=en}} He has said that he has also lived in Rennes, France and Sydney, Australia.{{Cite web |last=WendoverProductions |date=May 5, 2020 |title=I've lived in Washin… |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/watchnebula/comments/ge1zxm/sam_from_wendover_here_ama/fpkyayr/ |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=r/watchnebula}} As of 2020, Denby stated he has lived in Colorado, somewhere around Aspen.{{Cite web |title=Life update: I've moved to Colorado Pictured: Skiing, a week ago |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CBLtuasBcWa/ |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CBLtuasBcWa |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |access-date=December 19, 2020 |website=Instagram}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web |title=In case you didn't know, I'm a #influencer |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@samfromwendover/video/7166622495867604270?lang=en |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=TikTok}} Through Standard, he became a minority owner in the streaming service Nebula in 2020.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alqt6RCEWdM |title=How a Small Group of Creators Built a $150 Million Business |date=June 15, 2023 |type=Video |language=en |publisher=Wendover Productions |time=15:10 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |via=YouTube}}

On January 2, 2025, Devin Stone, owner of the channel LegalEagle, announced that he and Denby filed a class action lawsuit against PayPal Honey for poaching creator commissions.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4sScCB1cY |title=I'm Suing Honey |date=2025-01-02 |last=LegalEagle |access-date=2025-01-03 |via=YouTube}}