‘HarryShumJr.Net’ is a fan account dedicated to keeping fans updated on everything related to the man himself. Gabriella, a 22-year-old fan from Brazil, and Talia, a 17-year-old fan from Israel, work together to provide a safe, positive space for fans to share their love, appreciation, and support of Harry and his career.
What inspired you to start your account?
The truth is we both here didn’t even know each other before starting this project. We met each other on Tumblr through a post that said how unfair it is that Harry doesn’t have a fansite. After seeing this post, we both decided to start working on it immediately. We worked on the site for about two weeks before launching it on May 14, 2016. We knew we wanted this site and our social media accounts to focus on Harry only – on his projects, and overall, his journey. We wanted to expand the fandom of him specifically. We were aware most of his fandom is from the Shadowhunters fandom, since it’s his current project and it’s very popular, but we definitely wanted, and still want, to make people see how incredible this man is (on Shadowhunters and beyond it) and show him more of the appreciation and love that he deserves. While he does get a lot of love, and there’s a lot of positivity around him, we still believe he deserves more and we try to work our very best every day to achieve that.
How long have you both been involved in fandom, and what brought you into it?
G: I was familiar with the book series and watched the movie before, but only after the show I’ve officially become part of the fandom, so it’s been a year.
T: For me, on February of 2016, after a long break from Tumblr, I decided to scroll through it and look at what’s new. I stumbled upon a gifset of the Malec scene in Episode 1×06. As soon as I saw Harry, I felt incredibly happy and knew I was going to start the show. As a previous Glee fan, I was so glad Harry was finally getting the screen time and attention he deserves.
What has been your most memorable moment on the job?
We both can agree here that the most memorable moments on the job were when Harry followed us back on Twitter. We freaked out! Then, when he and Isaiah talked about us in an interview and gave us a shoutout.
How much time do you commit to your account per week?
Depends if Shadowhunters is being aired or not, or if there’s some event we need to cover. It’s hard to say we dedicate a specific amount of time per week because, to be honest, it’s a full-time job. We try to be online as much as we can, checking the social medias or if there’s something new to post, but it varies depending on the day and our private commitments.
How do you stay organized? Do you have designated responsibilities?
We take care of everything as a team. Of course there are some areas one feels more comfortable to work on than the other, but overall, we don’t have designated responsibilities. Throughout this whole time of working together, we both got to know each other very well. We realized we have similar understandings and opinions, and it makes it so much more incredible to work on something – that is already super fun for us – with someone you feel so comfortable with and have a great connection with.
As a fan of Harry, do you have any recommended viewing for other Harry fans?
G: I have a soft spot in my heart for White Frog – this is so far my favorite. It’s a simple movie with a beautiful and meaningful message. I still have the quote of the last scene written on my notebook.
T: I know I said I used to be a huge Glee fan, but Harry didn’t get the treatment he deserved there. That being said, watching performances of the show with him, and looking at him and everything he does throughout the whole thing, is a joy. Other than that, his latest film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, is really good, and I’m so happy he got to be a main character in such a big and wonderful movie. Single by 30 or any other work he’s done with Wong Fu Productions is always a fun watch.
What is your favorite thing about Shadowhunters?
We love how human and relatable all the characters are even though they’re supernatural beings, but what we truly love about Shadowhunters is the representation. It’s not every day you see a show with people of color; characters with diverse sexual orientations; women supporting women; girls being confident with their bodies and sexuality; real-life issues; and stuff that’s happening in our world today being discussed in creative ways.
What’s next for HSJ.Net? Do you have anything on the horizon you’re looking forward to?
We are currently just doing our thing and enjoying it. We can never really tell what’s next. We’re going to be celebrating our site’s first birthday on May 14th. We have some thoughts and ideas we’re talking about, but nothing is official yet, so we can’t confirm anything. After that, who knows? We’re certainly hoping for more fun and exciting stuff for Harry that will keep us active. But a year from now, we can’t know what’s going to happen. We hope to keep going for a long, long time and always love and enjoy what we do. We choose to focus on the present instead of worrying about the future. We’re in a good place now.
Have you had any interaction with the cast? If yes, what has been your favorite?
G: I did. I met the main cast (minus Harry and Isaiah) last December at Comic Con in Brazil, and they were really kind and lovely to me. I had a great and funny conversation with all of them. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Harry and Isaiah, but both of them have been nothing but sweet and supportive on social media.
T: I might not have met the cast, nor do I think I ever will, but I can’t really know. One amazing thing that happened is my best friend met Harry at the Toronto airport and took a video with him for me. He said my name so many times in different ways which was really funny and so awesome to see. Also, it’s been fun interacting on social media with the cast and sometimes being noticed by them. Harry has tweeted/liked/re-tweeted us countless times, followed us. Isaiah tweeted us a few times and followed us. Harry and Isaiah talked about us during an interview. Emeraude, Katherine, and Matthew noticed us a few times, too, so it’s nice! They’re a great cast with such lovely people.
If you’re a fan of Harry Shum Jr. and wish to share your love with like-minded fans, their website is no longer available as July 2017, but you can follow HarryShumJr.Net on Twitter.
