SubwayTakes Emmy Nom Rahma: I Won't Write Off Traditional TV
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- Kareem Rahma learned of his SubwayTakes Emmy nomination while filming on a New York subway platform interviewing frequent guest "The Rizzler," and celebrated by telling waiting passengers.
- Olivia Wilde became SubwayTakes' first celebrity guest, showing up without security, publicist, or hair and makeup after personally commenting on every episode.
- SubwayTakes enforces strict format rules: guests must use the Metro card mic — clipped to nothing — and Rahma refuses to rehearse takes to preserve spontaneity.
- Rahma and co-creator Andrew Kuo chose the subway as a venue because they were nearly broke and needed a cheap alternative to Rahma's previous cab show Keep the Meter Running, which cost too much per ride.
- Rahma walked away from a CNN deal to develop Keep the Meter Running after months stalled in development, calling the experience "a disaster" and questioning why he had to keep proving a proven concept.
- SubwayTakes earned an Emmy nomination, and Rahma said he remains open to traditional TV if someone makes it "a little bit easier," though he prefers the fun of independent production.
- Rahma credits the people and guests — not the subway setting itself — as what makes the show work, saying it would succeed "anywhere."
Why it matters: Rahma's CNN exit shows what a creator with proven digital traction encounters when moving to traditional TV: months of development with nothing produced, prompting him to stay independent. His conditional openness — "if someone makes it a little bit easier" — signals networks could still win him back with lower-friction deals, but only if they stop treating proven YouTube formats as concepts that need re-proving.
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