Adam Carolla Lauds ‘News Girl’ Gina Grad, Walks Us Through Grueling Podcast Schedule
Somehow, “Loveline” alum has time for a new Spike TV live-building show
Tony Maglio | March 10, 2017 @ 3:07 PM
Last Updated: March 10, 2017 @ 3:16 PM
Adam Carolla and Gina Grad
Adam Carolla is one of the busiest men in Hollywood, though he’d probably hate the mere suggestion that he co-exists with the town.
The host of six — yes, six — regular podcasts has also recently penned a number of best-selling books; written, produced and starred in some independent films, and is currently all-in on the documentary genre. He’s also a father of twins, a race car driver, and just helped Jimmy Kimmel write one of the best Academy Awards shows in history.
Oh, one other thing: “The Man Show” alum has a new Spike TV show starting next week, “Adam Carolla & Friends Build Stuff Live.” That’s how this interview came about, though we had to ask the dude behind “Crank Yankers” exactly how ridiculous his current schedule is — particularly the part he refers to as a “pirate ship.”
“If we’re doing it right, there isn’t any downtime,” Carolla told us of recording his many podcasts. “We just go roll right into the next one, right into the next one, right into the next one. My busiest day will be six, maybe seven podcasts.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting a cup of coffee, but it’s not scheduled — nor is lunch — it’s just, ‘Let’s get started,'” he continued. “We back ‘em all right up against each other, because the idea is to see how much we can get done in as small a window as we can.”
“I have lots of other projects and things to do, so sometimes we’ll leave a half-hour in-between the podcasts,” Carolla added. “But it won’t be for lunch, it’ll just be to go work on the documentary, or whatever else we’re doing.”
Carolla’s main podcast, “The Adam Carolla Show” (“ACS”) recently topped 2,000 total episodes. It’s also the Guinness Book record holder for most downloads.
“ACS” drops a new podcast every single weekday, like clockwork. That’s consistency. Two years ago, however, there was some sudden turnover at a key on-air position, when Carolla fired “news girl” Alison Rosen. TheWrap did a lot of reporting on what went down back then: Rosen first broke her silence in an interview with this writer. For what it’s worth, Carolla’s story about their separation was a little different; back-and-forth they went.
About a month later, the “Alison Rosen Is Your Next Best Friend” host was replaced by KLSX on-air personality Gina Grad. She’s stuck around “ACS” for two years now, becoming a fan-favorite in her own right. More importantly, Adam also really likes her work.
“I really like Gina, and I like going to work with Gina,” he told us. “I think Gina is great.”
“You know, I didn’t need a ton out of that role,” Carolla continued, something he had also explained during the Rosen aftermath. “Like, I didn’t need a hysterical person to bolster the comedy — but Gina is funny.”
He added: “And I just enjoy seeing Gina on a daily basis, and that’s about half of it in this business. You know, you see people every single day, and sometimes it gets a little stressful, and blah, blah, blah… I just like Gina as a human being. She’s very good, she’s very polished. I mean, she’s got a lot of reps. People don’t realize how long it takes to be a pro, so to speak, and she’s definitely a pro.”
Check back next week for more from our interview with Carolla. His new Spike show debuts Tuesday at 10/9c.
21 Best and Worst Oscars Moments of 2017, From Viola Davis to Warren Beatty (Photos)
This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony
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WORST: People Magazine editor and red carpet host Jess Cagle revived this year's Golden Globes faux pas, mentioning "Hidden Fences" as one of 2016's extraordinary films.
ABC
BEST: Jimmy Kimmel honors Meryl Streep with a standing ovation and a tongue-in-cheek homage to an actress who "has stood the test of time for her many uninspiring and overrated performances"
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BEST: "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali gives a touching speech honoring his grandmother and four-day-old child after winning the Oscar for Best Actor
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WORST: Critically panned superhero flick "Suicide Squad" wins an Oscar for makeup, giving the film as many Academy Awards as "Citizen Kane"
Warner Bros.
BEST: The cast of "Hidden Figures" brings out one of the film's true-life inspirations, NASA scientist Katharine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson in the movie)
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BEST: The rich get richer: Jimmy Kimmel floated bags of sweets to the crowd with a massive balloon drop
ABC
WORST/BEST: "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho got hit in the head with a flag while performing the song "How Far I'll Go" from the Disney film, but the 16-year-old wasn't flustered and brought down the house with her singing
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BEST: "Fences'" Viola Davis gives an emotional speech honoring her family and August Wilson after accepting her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
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BEST: After Iran's "The Salesman" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, director Asghar Farhadi (who boycotted the ceremony) explained his reasons in a heartfelt and pointed statement read by an Iranian-American engineer and astronaut
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BEST: Jimmy Kimmel brings a bus full of Hollywood tourists to the front row of the Academy Awards -- and Denzel Washington unofficially marries an engaged couple
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WORST: Jimmy Kimmel makes fun of one of the tourists' name, while saying "now that's a name" to her husband, named Patrick
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WORST: Seth Rogen (poorly) sings "Hamilton" songs while presenting the Academy Award for Best Film Editing alongside Michael J. Fox
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BEST/WORST: Kimmel conducts a brief interview with "Lion" star Sunny Pawar, but an homage to Disney's "Lion King" comes off a little awkward
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BEST: Kimmel tries to engage the President on his preferred medium: Twitter
Twitter
BEST: The host unveils an Oscar-themed version of one of his late-night show's signature bits, Mean Tweets
ABC
BEST: Kimmel introduces presenters Ben Affleck and erstwhile rival Matt Damon as "Ben Affleck and guest," and has Damon played off by the orchestra during his announcement of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
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WORST: Halle Berry incorrectly pronounces "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle's name as "Shazeel" when announcing his win for Best Director
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BEST: "Manchester by the Sea" director Kenneth Lonergan wins his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and says his film is "about people trying to take care of each other in terrible diversity" in a heartfelt speech
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WORST: Emma Stone wins the Oscar for Best Actress for musical "La La Land," despite her lack of top-end singing skills -- and a field including Isabelle Huppert, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman
Beatty’s Best Picture flub was one of the biggest Oscar bloopers of all time
This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony