One of the most crushing endings to a podcast I’ve experienced was the cancellation of The Cancelled Podcast with Tana Mongeau & Brooke Schofield. When I was first introduced to their podcast, I was an overwhelmed freshman in college. When I felt stressed or as though I wanted to be anywhere but my dorm, I could open my laptop and enter the world of Tana Mongeau and Brooke Schofield.
Brooke said multiple times on their podcast that everything she learned about love, life and friendship, she learned from Sex and the City. For me, their podcast was the equivalent. By listening to two 20-somethings figuring out life in Los Angeles share their grandeur stories and personal drama pitfalls, I, too, learned many things about love, life and friendship: what I want and don’t—whether it’s finding out the hard way who your real friends are or figuring out the best way to react to a complicated situation.
What began as two girls sitting on the grey couch—if you know, you know—became a tour that allowed them to travel to the United States, Europe, and Australia.
When people watch a TV show, they expect the characters to behave in a specific way and follow their typical storylines and dynamics. However, Brooke and Tana are two real people with personal lives, separate aesthetics, interests and life goals. As the years went on, business complicated their friendship, and they found themselves more distanced than ever.
Hate-watchers and online critics only exacerbated the issues Brooke and Tana tried to work through. When they would show up and have a slightly different dynamic, people would often forget that they were just two young women experiencing life; they expected Tana and Brooke to perform for their viewers and left hate comments when they didn’t.
Tana has a slew of controversies, partially because she is outspoken, but also because she started working in LA at a very young age and learned as she went. One significant instance stemmed from tweets she posted in 2014, which she has since repeatedly apologized for, saying that she is, “More than happy to apologize [for] until the day I die.”
A similar instance happened in the height of Cancelled’s success, when old tweets Brooke had posted in college resurfaced, which defended the acts of George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, expressed support for President Donald Trump, and included homophobic language.
People were rightfully outraged. Attempting to explain the context surrounding the tweets—which in no way excuses them—she explained that she grew up with her grandfather who was a very, very right-wing conservative. In a TikTok denouncing her tweets she remembers that her household exclusively played Fox News on the TV and that whatever she heard, she passed on. Taking accountability for her tweets, she reflects that she feels she has changed since then. She claims to be actively working to educate herself, and still understands that these steps don’t change the fact she chose to post the tweets.
However, people used Brooke’s controversy to incessantly attack her, Tana, their friendship and the podcast.
What began as a lighthearted rebuilding of friendship ultimately became a toxic space for both of them. They decided to break a contract they had signed earlier in 2025, stating they felt only publishing a few more episodes, rather than seeing out the contract, was best for them.
In a teary, three-hour last episode—for everyone involved, including myself—we saw Brooke and Tana with two completely different lives than they had started the show with. Brooke was engaged, with two cats, buying a house and ready to enter a much more private life. Tana was finally in her sober era, with a happy, healthy relationship and was ready to enter a new space on social media.
And while Brooke is in the process of creating her own podcast and posts Big Brother reactions on TikTok, Tana has hit the ground running with her new solo podcast Brand Safe.
Tana became sober over two years ago and wanted to shift her image to better reflect how far she’s come as an individual. She began slowly, attempting to shift Cancelled’s topics to her current interactions with people that she would always remember, something that was very different from her early years in LA. Then, she started an advice podcast, NOT LOVELINE, alongside her friend Trisha Paytas. While the two share personal stories, they also give their listeners advice, which is still unhinged but has become increasingly more thoughtful as the show has developed.
It seems that in Tana’s eyes, she wanted to be deemed “brand safe.” She wanted to be an influencer who large or influential brands were willing to work with. She wanted her public image to be safe enough that they could associate with her. Collaborating with more mainstream brands, notably working alongside Tarte Cosmetics and DoorDash, Tana was able to use the transition between Cancelled and Brand Safe to her advantage.
However, not everything has changed.
Per the Brand Safe YouTube bio:
“Brand Safe isn’t the Tana Mongeau you think it is. A little less mess, a lot more meaning. Brand Safe is a look into Mongeau’s iPhone: Notes app tangents, real-life conversations with her friends, her team, her therapists, even her idols. Honest conversations about family, relationships, sobriety, fame, and everything else she’s learned the hard way. She introspectively walks you through the deals, the shoots, and the rants she almost posted. Brand Safe, according to her. It’s still Tana, just… recalibrated.”
Tana acknowledges that with the shedding of her old recklessness—something she no longer feels has a place in her life—she anticipates some people won’t follow her and she will become slightly more niche. No longer obsessed with telling the most dramatized version of a story, she finds herself recalling memories and finding peace in her current life.
However, what I love most about the new podcast is that she chooses a new set each time. While I loved the comfort of the grey couch—even never having sat on it—there’s something refreshing about how certain episodes are now tied to a location. Whether it’s her discussing her new life in a car she didn’t know how to drive a year ago or in her bedroom with her foster fail chihuahua Buster Brown, there’s a dynamism with Brand Safe. I’ve been sat for the past few months, waiting each Sunday when a new episode is released. Although now there are enough episodes to binge if you’re a new listener—or repeat, if you have the same habit I do—here are my must-watch so far now that “we are so brand safe.”
[Queue MacBook opening sound]
“Makoa and Tana talk wedding plans, their relationship rules & the art of maxxing” – Ep. 4
What I love about this project is that it is current. Tana has a track history of releasing YouTube videos from June in October. Not that I don’t love seeing her Halloween vlogs in November or even December, but I love that this podcast has the capacity to be up-to-date. The topics, references and colloquialisms derived from social media make so much sense being presented at the time when it’s happening.
This episode deep dives into Tana’s relationship with her boyfriend, Makoa. The story of how they met and what their relationship has endured and blossomed into over the past few years is nothing short of heartwarming. This episode radiates happiness and lets viewers into their thoughts about their relationship. Their current obsession is “maxxing”, coined from TikTok; “maxxing” is added to the end of a word to mean optimizing or maximizing that particular activity. To learn more about their relationship and what the two are “maxxing”, this is definitely an episode you shouldn’t skip.
“from assistant to bestie: Paige and I on our wild years, losing friends & dating athletes” – Ep. 10
Whether you know anything about their relationship or have watched anything by either of them previously, this is a must-watch. One of—if not the—funniest episodes so far features Paige Camerlin. At the end of her time as Tana’s personal assistant of 4 years, she began appearing as a recurring guest on Cancelled. Revealing more about her personal life beyond her minimal cameos in Tana’s YouTube videos, viewers were drawn to her honesty and humor. Wildly unfiltered, she began her own podcast with Molly Brown, Flopcast (Working Title).
Paige’s first appearance (and certainly not the last on Brand Safe), viewers get to watch the beautiful friendship that’s developed over the last few years. Being so similar, they bring out the best in each other and share their inside jokes, past history and current joys. Filmed on a trip to Cabo, the episode feels reminiscent of their time on Cancelled.
“I sat down with Trevi and discussed sobriety scares & a tough breakup” – Ep. 11
This was one of the most emotional episodes of any podcast I’ve watched. Trevi Moran has been friends with Tana since they began living in LA. Trevi made the decision to become sober in 2021. This was a large topic of discussion for them because Tana was able to watch Trevi break her toxic relationship with alcohol, and later Trevi helped Tana with her own journey.
A little bit into the episode, Trevi broke down in tears, and they began discussing that she had recently gone through a breakup. A rug pulled completely out from underneath her, they emphasized that once again, their friendship held them together.
This was a very vulnerable episode, and exactly what I believe Tana wanted out of her new project. She wanted more freedom to show that everyone goes through challenging situations, and becoming sober for her has allowed her to cut people out of her life who no longer align with her values. This has given her more of an opportunity to prioritize those, like Trevi, who equally supported Tana when she needed help. Now, Tana is in a space in her life where she can do the same for Trevi.
“Tana and Imari met Kim K and relived influencer party horror stories” – Ep. 13
Tana has been friends with Imari Stuart since they were in high school, and being that Tana is adopted by his family, anytime they get together you are guaranteed a sibling dynamic. Poking fun at each other and recognizing the ways they constructively challenge each other to be better is the theme of this episode as they relive old and recent memories. This was filmed in Tana’s backyard after they attended the launch party for Update, Kim Kardashian’s zero-caffeine, sugar-free energy drink.
Although Tana has become increasingly invited to events because of brands and business figures viewing her as “brand safe”, viewers are still going to get real takes about what went down. Imari has been on the podcast multiple times; however, this episode is a standout. Spilling the tea about influencers, dynamics and Tana’s interaction with Kim, it was one of the best episodes of the podcast.
“questions you MUST ask a man before marrying him + the songs that changed my life” – Ep.16
While this is the only solo episode I am listing, it is definitely not the only great one. All of her episodes where it is just Tana speaking directly to the camera—OG-YouTube-Tana-Mongeau-style—are must-watches. However, this one stuck out to me the most because she goes into her favorite songs.
While dating a number of musicians and being a musician herself (stream “Without You” I am so serious), I feel that this episode dives into her music favs in a way that no prior video has. While she mentions a current favorite song or artist on Cancelled, such as her longtime friend Alex Warren or Justin Bieber, I loved this side of her interests.
This episode also includes a list of questions that you have to ask a man. Not only does she make the answers funny, but as someone who has been in turbulent relationships, her authenticity and passion for helping others shine through.
While I don’t think Brand Safe is for everyone, particularly those who are attached to watching Tana Mongeau’s older videos and didn’t care for the more thoughtful shift she was having towards the end of Cancelled, I do think this is the Tana who deserves a chance. For so long, she didn’t know what was best for her personally or for her career, but this appears to be both.
She still is authentically her, sharing her true emotions towards a variety of situations, but it’s also a Tana who is finding a different footing in LA—a place she’s been for over ten years. From meeting her idol Adam Sandler to interviewing Chelsea Handler, whom she’s admired since she was a little girl, this podcast is perfect for the life she is building.
We all deserve the chance to experiment in careers, and this is Tana Mongeau’s best. As a longtime fan, I am so happy she is finally so Brand Safe.