I am a bit old, and never got why so many people watch “actual play”. I’ve done it once or twice to get the mechanic of a game, but found the experience more technical/boring than fun.
I get having a guest or candidate player watching an in person to see how rpg work, or whether they click with the group, but somehow watching video of strangers playing RPG doesn’t sounds fun to me. But I might miss something considering how popular these actual plays are
I find I really need to get over the hump into it feeling like a parasocial relationship, which is kinda a shame. The only time I’ve enjoyed actual plays is when I’ve seen people who I was already fond of from other internet content play, and on top of that, never in a gimmicky setting like a promotion one-shot.
Basically it’s not for the actual play, it’s for living through their friendship, then occasionally the drama of the game spills forth and gives it an extra kick.