General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20263 min read

Puppet History

Puppet History is an American comedy game show web series in which a puppet host, The Professor, quizzes contestants on stories from history and crowns each episode's winner History Master. It was created by Shane Madej, features Ryan Bergara as the recurring contestant, and debuted on January 10, 2020, as the first show released by the Watcher Entertainment channel.¹^•² Seven seasons had been produced as of 2025, and the series is rated TV-14.³

Key fact	Detail
Format	The Professor, a puppet described as an expert accredited by Puppet U, hosts a competition quizzing contestants on historical subjects; the victor is deemed History Master and receives a prize⁴^•²
First episode	"Life During the Black Death Pandemic", January 10, 2020; the first Watcher show ever released²
Seasons	7 seasons, 2020 to 2025; Season 1 had 4 episodes, Season 2 had 8, and Seasons 3 through 7 had 6 each³^•⁴
Cast	Shane Madej (as The Professor) and Ryan Bergara⁴^•³
Genres and rating	Comedy, documentary, game show, history, and musical; TV-14⁴^•³
Distribution	Watcher Entertainment production; aired on YouTube and WatcherTV, average runtime 35 minutes⁴
Status	Listed as on hiatus⁵

Spoilers

Episodes and seasons

Season 1 ran from January to May 2020 with four episodes, covering topics including the Black Death, the theft of the world's most expensive necklace, a Titanic survivor, and the Dancing Plague of 16th-century France.³^•⁴ Season 2 followed from August to October 2020 with eight episodes, and Seasons 3 and 4 each ran six episodes in 2021.⁴

Later seasons. Season 5 ran from November to December 2022 and closed with "The Dreadful Demise of the Dinosaurs" on December 16, 2022, in which The Professor quizzes his parents on the life and death of the dinosaurs.⁶ Season 6 ran from July 7 to August 11, 2023, with episodes on subjects including the inventor of the saxophone, a Nika-style riot in Constantinople, and the race to the South Pole.⁶ Season 7 ran from January 10 to February 14, 2025, with six episodes covering Pythagoras, the Straw Hat Riots, the Egyptian sultana Shajar al-Durr, Franz Liszt, a competition to be England's court jester, and the Wager Mutiny.⁶

Format

Each episode focuses on one story from history, taught by The Professor to co-host Ryan Bergara and a special guest.² Tubi's description summarizes the premise as Professor Puppet employing trivia, quirky props, and bizarre stories from the past in a contest that crowns one contestant History Master.³ When the episode's song concludes, The Professor announces the victor, who is deemed History Master and receives a prize.²

The series also carries a continuing fictional storyline. Comments and photos implying that The Professor had time-traveled are scattered through the series, and the show uses puppets as portals through different times.²

Distribution and related content

The series is produced by Watcher Entertainment and has aired on both YouTube and the WatcherTV streaming service.⁴ A spinoff, Puppet History Karaoke!, is a WatcherTV exclusive presenting short song selections from the show's musical guests; it lists four episodes, each just over a minute long, including "Plague Days" and "Didn't Make 'Em Dance".⁷

As of the most recent listing, the show's status is on hiatus, with 44 episodes accumulated across its run.⁵

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 2017 to 2021

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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