Adam Carolla Explains How You Rehearse a Live TV Show

“Loveline” alum’s new Spike building series debuts tomorrow

Adam Carolla Catch a Contractor

Adam Carolla’s new live Spike TV show debuts Tuesday, so the podcasting king’s already busy days just became jam-packed with final rehearsals.

But how does one even run through a live television episode anyway — especially the premiere? In the case of “Adam Carolla & Friends Build Stuff Live,” there’s at least one aspect the guys can nail down. (Yes, that pun was intended.)

“We’re doing a build show, so we get to rehearse the build — a lot,” Carolla told TheWrap. “You can’t really rehearse that much else in the show.”

Giving our question a bit more thought, the podcasting king added that they’re also currently mapping out the hour’s individual acts.

“There’s a lot of cues and things that roll in… but we can’t really rehearse the dialogue part,” he said.

Meanwhile, they’re also working out the sound stage’s opportunities and limitations for the ambitious project. In other words, it’s all a work in progress.

That attitude won’t change, by the way, after tomorrow’s live version wraps.

“I don’t know what the first three episodes are gonna exactly be like, because it’s gonna be pretty chaotic, and it’s kind of a crazy format,” Carolla said. “We’re trying to find the show within the format, which I think we definitely are — but it’s also probably the kind of show that’s gonna change quite a bit from Show 1 to Show 10.”

“It’ll be a good show,” he promised.

OK, so there’s been a lot of sawing and hammering and drilling in preparation — but what the hell are they building anyway? Carolla’s first project will be a loft bed, he told TheWrap, which he’ll build with premiere episode guest and former “Man Show” partner Jimmy Kimmel.

Subsequent projects will be along the same lines: More ambitious than a birdhouse, but doable within the constraints of a cable TV hour.

“We can’t do a room addition, but we’d like to do something that had a little heft to it, and something that people might want to do at home,” Carolla put it. “We’re trying to pick these projects that feel like something, have some [use], but we can finish within the hour.”

The format totally falls into the wheelhouse of the former carpenter, who is credited as bring one of the finer improv artists of our time. In other words, we expect quality comedy and furniture from this thing, though Carolla himself isn’t guaranteeing it’ll be a long-running hit just yet.

“The real thing in Hollywood these days is they don’t give you that grace period anymore,” he said. “If the show doesn’t work out of the gate, they don’t give you a season to find your footing.”

“Adam Carolla & Friends Build Stuff Live” debuts Tuesday at 10/9c on Spike.

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