Dolan Twins Return to YouTube After 5 Years

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The Dolan Twins' YouTube comeback deserves a double take.

Five years after announcing their exit from producing content on the platform, Ethan Dolan and Grayson Dolan uploaded their first video, playing twin con artists in a short film titled The Double Take that they co-wrote and directed.

Released in July 7, the seven-minute visuals begin with Ethan shopping for a watch at a jewelry store. After trying on a Rolex, he stealthily ducks behind a display, allowing Grayson to take his place and convince the salesman that he had already returned the expensive timepiece.

"You wanna search me?" Grayson—who has a tell-tale birthmark on his chin, while his look-alike brother has a distinctive mole on his chin—tells the security guard. "Search me."

As Grayson continues to distract store staff, Ethan quietly slips out the front door, ditching his suit and changing into a more casual disguise as he ran down the street.

The short film ends with the siblings meeting up in the back of a taxi, with the Rolex watch still on Ethan's wrist.

"Good stuff," Grayson says to his twin. "We made it."

And the Dolan Twins made sure to include other family members in their video as well. In the closing credits, Ethan Dolan's wife Kristina Alice Dolan—who he married in 2024—was included as part of the "creative research" team, while the brothers gave a "special thanks" to their mom Lisa Dolan.

Needless to say, fans were thrilled to see the Dolan Twins' return. In fact, many pointed out that Ethan and Grayson kept to tradition by uploading the video on a Tuesday like they had previously done with their content.

"It’s like running into your childhood best friend," one fan quipped, while a second subscriber commented, "Was not expecting this notification."

Indeed, a lot has changed since the Dolan Twins stopped making YouTube videos. Not only did Ethan become a married man, but Grayson also got engaged to Eleni Stamoulis.

As for why they stopped subscribing to the YouTube life?

"My heart wasn't in it anymore," Grayson said in a 2021 episode of his and Ethan's Deeper With the Dolan Twins podcast. "I was down in the dumps for a really long time because life just felt stagnant. Seven whole years of doing the exact same thing, and there was a stretch of five or four years where we just didn't even miss a Tuesday."

Their busy filming schedules also took a toll on their personal lives at the time. As Ethan explained in a 2019 YouTube video titled "It's Time to Move On," the pressure to create content every week made it difficult to be with family and grieve the death of their dad Sean Dolan, who passed away earlier that year after a battle with cancer.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for HollyShort Film Festival

"Had we not been filming a video every week, we would have been able to spend more time with our family around the time that they needed us," he said through tears. "I could have been there more during and after if I wasn't just trying to f--king put a video out every week."

Ethan explained his and Grayson's priorities "definitely shifted" after their father's passing.

"It just numbed us," he shared, with Grayson adding, "It's just a whole f--king mental thing going up there."

For more stars who've stepped away from the Hollywood spotlight in recent years, read on.

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