Kareem Rahma’s YouTube series “Subway Takes” keeps its crew small, shoots between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Manhattan-to-Brooklyn trains, and lets both regular riders and celebrities ride along—then leans on sharp editing to turn real-time conversations into fast,
At 11 a.m. sharp, the subway becomes a studio—just without the studio look. Kareem Rahma’s “Subway Takes” runs its main OG NYC schedule between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on trains moving between Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a plan designed to disturb as few regular riders as possible.
Rahma’s approach is simple on paper: a couple of camera setups around Rahma and his guest. seated on a train. But what makes the series feel different is the restraint behind it. The show. which started with Rahma and two friends. has since doubled its still-tiny footprint—adding a rotation of camera crew and producers—while aiming to keep the shooting footprint low so that even when big celebrities are involved. they don’t bring a big swarm onto the same car.
Rahma says he hasn’t run into anyone upset about the filming. “If someone wants to chime in, they chime in, and I’m happy to have them on the show. There’s not been anyone who’s trying to cause a ruckus or create chaos,” he said. He added that special accommodations usually aren’t necessary: “Unless you’re, like, Cate Blanchett or J. Lo, sometimes you’re just mixed with other people. So I’ll shoot like four friends and then. like. Eric André. who’s technically a celebrity but is also a peer and is also normal. so he just comes on with everyone else. We don’t make any special accommodations.”.
That “no big disruption” framework also shapes who the show is for. “Indeed. part of the draw of watching ‘Subway Takes’ is that anyone and everyone could be on ‘Subway Takes.’” It’s not just about famous names sneaking into a carriage. The point is that the carriage is already full of real people. with real takes—romance. AI. and the social contract around potlucks—waiting to be heard.
The timing matters too. because the ride across the East River gives Rahma more uninterrupted time to dig into a guest’s thoughts. And even with a format that looks repeatable—two cameras, a seated conversation—it wasn’t guaranteed to land. Rahma originally pitched the whole thing as an experiment he didn’t even expect to work.
“I’m literally not working in Hollywood, so let me go do this thing that will probably fail,” Rahma told IndieWire. “I actually thought it was a really dumb idea because I’ve had so many of those that I was like, ‘What are the odds that this one’s good?’”
The show’s momentum has a key ingredient beyond the location: editing. Rahma credits the way editors shape longer conversations into shorter reels that still feel alive. “Our editors make something that seems so simple feel really dynamic. really engaging. really fast-paced. and at the same time not cheap and not slop. ” he said.
For Rahma, the series isn’t just viral content. It’s a deliberate contrast in a media landscape that often feels artificial. “I think in a world where everything feels fake. and sometimes is fake with AI and such. it’s a breath of fresh air to see something so normal. and just like real life. ” he said. “You turn on the news, and those people are lying to you. You turn on your social media apps, and those people are lying to you. You watch a video, and you find out it’s fake and they’re lying to you. And then you see ‘Subway Takes’ and you’re like. ‘OK. those people are not lying to me.’ There’s this stupid. real. funny conversation that’s also smart at the same time.”.
It also helps that Rahma has honed his interview instincts over time. He says he doesn’t overthink his approach to setup, prep, or filming—he tries to be a friend to the guest and set them at ease. Still, the job has never been effortless, and he remembers one moment that shook his confidence.
“There was an episode with Bill Burr that was really hard for me,” Rahma said. “This guy just totally destroyed me in the first 15 seconds; made me feel like I was bad at my job. And then I got it back on track after like 10 or 15 minutes. and by the end of it. he was chummy and happy and complimented me on my skills. So that was one of the first times where I was like. ‘OK. maybe I do have a certain skill that has been developing.’”.
The format has already traveled beyond New York. Rahma’s “Subway Takes” has expanded to other transit systems in London, Chicago, Berlin, and beyond, while keeping the same core idea: low-profile filming in public, with real conversations that don’t pretend to be staged.
So what’s next?. Rahma says he’s interested in a Japan season, while acknowledging the etiquette there is different from New Yorkers’. “I’m really interested in exploring a Japan season. but I know that their train etiquette is a lot different than New Yorkers’ train etiquette. so I haven’t figured it out. I think South Korea, Seoul, would also be really cool. I want to make it out to Asia,” he said.
There’s also talk of “Bullet Train Takes,” which Rahma suggests may be coming soon. Until then, the show is available on YouTube—and next week’s Craft Newsletter will move on to its next set of crafty obsessions.
Kareem Rahma Subway Takes YouTube IndieWire Bill Burr Cate Blanchett J. Lo Eric André London Chicago Berlin viral video public transit editing