There are already comic conventions, film festivals, fan expos and industry summits. So what makes ViewerCon different?
Chris Witherspoon, the event’s founder, describes it simply, “The cookout for content.”
For Witherspoon, ViewerCon is the summer television and film experience he felt was missing—a gathering where audiences can hear directly from prominent entertainers, creators and media executives while also building meaningful relationships with one another. But beneath the celebrity appearances, screenings and panel discussions is a larger idea: the future of entertainment will increasingly be shaped by viewers rather than studio and network executives.
ViewerCon, taking place at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, isn’t trying to compete with existing conventions. But it is rethinking what an entertainment gathering can be. Beyond the celebrity appearances, beyond the conversations and screenings, Witherspoon is pursuing a much larger idea: that audience choices—not executives—are becoming the most important force shaping the future of entertainment.
And Witherspoon believes Newark is the right place to build that future.
“I Created Something I Felt Was Missing”
Witherspoon has spent more than two decades in the entertainment industry. His career began as an NBC page at Rockefeller Center before becoming an executive assistant during the NBC Universal years. He later helped launch TheGrio, eventually interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey and Viola Davis to Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and countless other artists whose work has shaped modern culture.
Those experiences exposed him to nearly every kind of entertainment gathering imaginable. Yet something still felt available. “I’ve moderated conventions. I’ve hosted festivals,” he told me. “But I really felt like what we’ve created is special. It’s intimate. It feels like an opportunity to be up close and personal with some of the biggest television talent, film talent and executives driving culture right now.”
What emerged wasn’t simply another convention. It was an attempt to build community around entertainment itself.
The Real Currency Isn’t Celebrity. It’s Connection.
One theme surfaced repeatedly throughout our conversation. Connection. Long before ViewerCon existed, Witherspoon’s company created an event series called Vibes & Views, bringing together actors, journalists, creators and entertainment professionals. Every gathering ended with the same challenge. Don’t leave with only photographs. Leave with relationships. “I always tell people, if you don’t walk out of this room with two or three new contacts, then you missed the intention.” ViewerCon expands that philosophy.
While attendees will hear from familiar names—including Taye Diggs, Joy Reid, Karamo Brown, Bevy Smith and others—Witherspoon insists the celebrity lineup is only part of the experience. Two stages will operate throughout the day. The marquee conversations happen inside NJPAC’s Victoria Theater. But the Chase Room may prove even more significant. There, studio executives, producers, creators and entertainment professionals will speak candidly about careers that rarely followed straight lines. They’ll discuss failed projects, unexpected pivots, missed opportunities and lessons learned before opening the floor to audience questions.
In an industry often defined by exclusivity, ViewerCon is betting on accessibility.
Newark Isn’t Hosting the Conversation. It’s Becoming Part of It.
When asked why Newark became the home for ViewerCon, Witherspoon answered without hesitation. “I think Newark is next.” He points to several forces converging at once. Major studio investment. Growing production activity. The work of the City’s Office of Film and Television. Netflix’s nearby expansion. Lionsgate’s presence. Television series already filming throughout the city. To Witherspoon, these aren’t isolated developments. They’re evidence that Newark is becoming one of the country’s emerging entertainment hubs.
ViewerCon, he hopes, becomes part of the infrastructure that supports that growth—not only by bringing celebrities into Newark, but by creating opportunities for local creatives to meet executives, producers and decision-makers already investing in the region.
Hollywood Isn’t Being Democratized by Studios. It’s Being Democratized by Phones.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of our conversation centered on how entertainment itself is changing. Many observers argue that endless scrolling, algorithms and smartphones have diminished our relationship with storytelling.
“I don’t think we’ve lost something,” he said. “I think what’s changing is the democratization of entertainment.” Twenty years ago, breaking into Hollywood required access to a handful of gatekeepers inside major studios. Today? Creators build audiences first. Studios notice later. He pointed to creators like KevOnStage and Big Jah, whose digital audiences eventually led to major studio partnerships with Tubi.
He pointed to the explosive rise of vertical dramas—mobile-first scripted series once dismissed by traditional Hollywood but now becoming legitimate business models. Even Taye Diggs, one of ViewerCon’s featured guests, has become part of that evolution through ventures in vertical storytelling. The audience didn’t wait for Hollywood to innovate. Hollywood followed the audience.
Audiences Want More Than Success Stories
One question produced the longest pause. After interviewing celebrities for years, what have public figures consistently misunderstood about the people sitting across from them? Witherspoon’s answer wasn’t about journalism, it was about vulnerability. For years, entertainment press tours largely celebrated success. Awards. Premieres. Box office numbers. Red carpets. But audiences have changed. “They want authenticity,” he said. “They don’t just want to hear about the movie. They want the journey.”
He recalled interviewing actors such as Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Chadwick Boseman long before many of today’s conversations around equity became commonplace.
Oprah Taught Him That Failure Isn’t Failure
Years ago, Witherspoon interviewed Oprah Winfrey shortly after the launch of OWN, when the network faced widespread criticism and financial struggles. Expecting an emotional conversation about failure, he asked how those setbacks had affected her. Instead, Oprah rejected the premise entirely. “I don’t believe in failure,” she told him. She described sitting beneath a tree outside her California home after the network struggled, asking herself what lesson the experience was trying to teach. She reached out to Tyler Perry. She connected with Ava DuVernay. She listened more carefully to her audience. The network eventually found its footing. Her conclusion has stayed with Witherspoon ever since.
Failure isn’t falling short. Failure is refusing to learn. “You have to get the lesson,” he said. “And then you have to share the lesson.” That philosophy may be the clearest window into ViewerCon itself.
Fans Are No Longer Watching From the Sidelines
Near the end of our conversation, I asked Witherspoon what most people misunderstand about fandom. His answer was immediate. “Fans will decide the future of content.” Not executives or algorithms. Fans. That belief doesn’t remain theoretical. ViewerCon attendees will become part of a new audience intelligence initiative immediately following one of the day’s featured screenings.
Participants will answer questions through a digital platform, providing real-time insights about what they watched, how they responded and what kinds of stories resonate with them. Those insights, Witherspoon hopes, won’t simply measure audience reactions.
They may eventually influence what gets renewed. What gets greenlit. What stories get told next. “I could have called it a lot of different things,” he told me. “But I called it ViewerCon because without the viewers, there’s no Hollywood.” ViewerCon arrives at a moment when Newark’s creative economy is accelerating, when the traditional boundaries between audiences and creators continue to blur, and when entertainment is increasingly being shaped from the bottom up rather than the top down.
Chris Witherspoon isn’t simply organizing another event. He’s making a bet. That the future of entertainment belongs to the people watching it. And he wants Newark to help lead the conversation.
