{"id":52674,"date":"2026-05-16T00:51:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52674"},"modified":"2026-05-16T00:51:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:51:21","slug":"gerry-and-mandy-what-goes-on-behind-the-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=52674","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Gerry and Mandy\u2019: What goes on behind the scenes?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013\u00a0They spend hours in the office watching videos and reels \u2013 and the best part is they do not even need to hide from the boss because it is all part of the job.<\/p>\n

In fact, it is probably one reason why The Straits Times\u2019\u00a0Gerry and Mandy explainer series \u2013 now at nearly 50 videos \u2013 is a hit, having racked up millions of views online.<\/p>\n

For those who have not seen the\u00a0videos,\u00a0think serious political topics condensed into snappy, meme-filled clips, narrated by a Gen Z duo best known by their tongue-in-cheek online monikers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all very chronically online,\u201d says\u00a0Vera,\u00a0who was, until April 6, one of the series\u2019 two producers. \u201cSo we know our own habits, how we scroll, what kind of videos make us stop and watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

This helps the team figure out if a gag is actually funny or if it will fall flat.<\/p>\n

The popular mantra that teamwork makes the dream work also applies here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never really been in a team with this much synergy,\u201d said video journalist Chong Lii, who shoots and edits the team\u2019s videos. \u201cYou can feel when people are enthusiastic and aligned in their approaches. That translates on camera because it\u2019s very hard to fake that kind of chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gerry and Mandy video series\u00a0was born in the lead-up to the\u00a02025 General Election with a simple goal: to make politics feel less intimidating and more relatable to young people.<\/p>\n

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A behind-the-scenes look at the team’s last shoot for the 2025 General Election \u2013 a wrap-up on what the results meant for the different political parties \u2013 with (from left) ST video journalist Chong Lii, senior audience growth specialist Farzanah Friday, and journalists Wong Yang and Christie.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: DANSON CHEONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to\u00a0Chong\u00a0Lii, the team currently includes journalists Wong Yang and Christie Chiu \u2013 better known to viewers as Gerry and Mandy \u2013 as well as producer Farzanah Friday and supervisor Danson Cheong.<\/p>\n

For their work on the series, Wong\u00a0Yang and Christie\u00a0won the top prize at SPH Media\u2019s annual English, Malay and Tamil Media Group awards<\/span><\/a> on May 5.<\/p>\n

So how does it all come together, and how long does it take to put out a video?<\/p>\n

About a week, the team says.<\/p>\n

But when the stakes are high \u2013 such as during the general election \u2013 they can, and have, cranked out a video in under 24 hours.<\/p>\n

It starts with\u00a0bouncing ideas off one another before the two hosts hunker down to write the script. Wong Yang says that even then, both of them keep \u201cthrowing lines and ideas at each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

Christie adds:\u00a0\u201cWe have both written scripts on our own, and they just didn\u2019t land as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chong Lii and Christie filming a call-out video inviting viewers to a Conversations with ST event in November 2025.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: WONG YANG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There have been experiments along the way. One video about third spaces in Singapore \u2013 shot in the light of the closure of independent cinema The Projector \u2013 was the first time they went beyond the facts to question their own role in the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cChong 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,\u201d\u00a0Christie recounts.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n