‘Gerry and Mandy’: What goes on behind the scenes?

SINGAPORE – They spend hours in the office watching videos and reels – and the best part is they do not even need to hide from the boss because it is all part of the job.

In fact, it is probably one reason why The Straits Times’ Gerry and Mandy explainer series – now at nearly 50 videos – is a hit, having racked up millions of views online.

For those who have not seen the videos, think serious political topics condensed into snappy, meme-filled clips, narrated by a Gen Z duo best known by their tongue-in-cheek online monikers.

“We’re all very chronically online,” says Vera, who was, until April 6, one of the series’ two producers. “So we know our own habits, how we scroll, what kind of videos make us stop and watch.”

This helps the team figure out if a gag is actually funny or if it will fall flat.

The popular mantra that teamwork makes the dream work also applies here.

“I’ve never really been in a team with this much synergy,” said video journalist Chong Lii, who shoots and edits the team’s videos. “You can feel when people are enthusiastic and aligned in their approaches. That translates on camera because it’s very hard to fake that kind of chemistry.”

The Gerry and Mandy video series was born in the lead-up to the 2025 General Election with a simple goal: to make politics feel less intimidating and more relatable to young people.

A behind-the-scenes look at the team’s last shoot for the 2025 General Election – a wrap-up on what the results meant for the different political parties – with (from left) ST video journalist Chong Lii, senior audience growth specialist Farzanah Friday, and journalists Wong Yang and Christie.

ST PHOTO: DANSON CHEONG

In addition to Chong Lii, the team currently includes journalists Wong Yang and Christie Chiu – better known to viewers as Gerry and Mandy – as well as producer Farzanah Friday and supervisor Danson Cheong.

For their work on the series, Wong Yang and Christie won the top prize at SPH Media’s annual English, Malay and Tamil Media Group awards on May 5.

So how does it all come together, and how long does it take to put out a video?

About a week, the team says.

But when the stakes are high – such as during the general election – they can, and have, cranked out a video in under 24 hours.

It starts with bouncing ideas off one another before the two hosts hunker down to write the script. Wong Yang says that even then, both of them keep “throwing lines and ideas at each other”.

Christie adds: “We have both written scripts on our own, and they just didn’t land as well.”

Chong Lii and Christie filming a call-out video inviting viewers to a Conversations with ST event in November 2025.

ST PHOTO: WONG YANG

There have been experiments along the way. One video about third spaces in Singapore – shot in the light of the closure of independent cinema The Projector – was the first time they went beyond the facts to question their own role in the story.

“Chong Lii had a great idea while we were shooting, which was for me to ad lib my thoughts about my childhood library that closed down to make the message more personal,” Christie recounts.

That spur-of-the-moment idea provoked a wave of reflection. After the video was published in September 2025, viewers shared their thoughts on how their own habits may have contributed to the decline of such spaces.

For Chong Lii, a big part of the creative process is staying flexible, even deep into post-production.

“I try not to have too many preconceived ideas of what it must look like,” he says. “I look out for what’s valuable and be okay with unexpected options.”

In the end, the team’s videos hit a chord with audiences because they dealt with politics in such an unconventional way, and people found that refreshing, Danson says.

“It was not always easy to convince our editors that this was the right approach, but I’m glad we got the space to do the things we did,” he says.

(From left) Christie and Wong Yang being filmed by Chong Lii for a video on young voters and why their votes matter in April 2025, ahead of the 2025 General Election.

ST PHOTO: VERA ANG

Now that the election is over, the series has shifted gears. The team has started diving into broader socio-political issues, from the tough job market facing fresh graduates to Singapore’s high-pressure education system.

Team producer Friday, 29, says the slower pace has given the team room to dig deeper. “Without the time pressure of the GE, we can spend more time doing deeper research, though posting becomes less frequent,” she says.

Danson adds: “We feel that if young people are more interested in policy and politics, then it’s healthier for our democracy.”

For now, the videos continue. Look out for the next one.