Adam Ruins Everything

Last updated
Adam Ruins Everything
Adam Ruins Everything logo.png
Genre
Created by Adam Conover
Developed by CollegeHumor
Directed by
  • Paul Briganti
  • Tim Wilkime
  • Laura Murphy
  • Matthew Pollock
StarringAdam Conover
Theme music composer Jesse Novak
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Jeremy Reitz
  • Dave Oberg
CinematographyMatt Garrett
Editors
  • James Fitzpatrick
  • Kent Kincannon
Camera setup Single camera
Production companies
Original release
Network TruTV
ReleaseSeptember 29, 2015 (2015-09-29) –
October 1, 2019 (2019-10-01)

Adam Ruins Everything is an American educational comedy television series starring Adam Conover that ran from 2015 through 2019 on TruTV. The series endeavors to debunk common misconceptions held by the public on a variety of topics. [1]

Contents

Premise

Adam Ruins Everything is based on a CollegeHumor web series of the same name, and stars comedian Adam Conover; Conover himself said that he was inspired to produce the webseries based on interesting feedback from a stand-up bit based on "Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?", Edward Jay Epstein's article on the February 1982 issue of The Atlantic highlighting De Beers' aggressive campaign promoting diamonds as an important cultural item. [2] Each episode begins with an ordinary person going about their daily lives before stating a common misconception regarding a certain topic. Usually, the person in question is recurring cast member comedian Emily Axford. Adam appears seemingly out of nowhere, introduces himself, and informs the other character and the audience about the misconceptions related to the character's statement. This dialogue serves as a springboard to a more in-depth discussion of commonly-held beliefs and falsehoods related to that topic, in which Adam provides historical background to explain how the ideas in question became popularized, introducing real-life experts who explain these details, and citing peer-reviewed science studies and other empirical sources from which the information is derived. [3] When he does this, the citations briefly appear onscreen. [4]

Information is presented via the use of sketch characters, time travel, and animated segments, sometimes to the annoyance of the other character. At the end of the show's third act, the other characters' frustration will reach a critical point, prompting them to feel demoralized and disempowered. In the fourth act, however, Adam responds with a "positive takeaway", explaining how the new knowledge that has been provided can provide a solution to the situation, and explaining how the characters and viewers can do their part to improve society and their lives. [5]

The first season featured interstitial segments titled "Ever Wonder Why?", which briefly explored subjects unrelated to the episode's main topic. [6] The second season replaced these segments with extended, out-of-character interviews with the show's experts. In season three, these were replaced with new segments in which Emily talks about other subjects related to the main topic.

In 2016, TruTV aired "The Adam Ruins Everything Election Special", which took a historical look at the American presidency and election system and was filmed before a live audience in Los Angeles, California. [7]

Cast

Notes
  1. ↑ Known as Rhea Butcher during the production and airing of the show. Butcher came out as a Trans man in 2021

Other

These actors appear in featured roles, often as historical figures that help illustrate the origins of the ideas that Adam scrutinizes.

Production

On January 7, 2016, it was announced that the show had been picked up for 14 additional episodes to air starting on August 23, 2016. [14] [15] [16] An hour-long election special was later produced. [17] On December 7, 2016, truTV announced the renewal of Adam Ruins Everything for a 16-episode season, [18] which premiered on July 11, 2017. [19] An additional miniseries of six animated episodes premiered on March 20, 2018, subtitled Reanimated History. [20] [21] On May 9, 2018, TruTV announced that the show had been renewed for 10 more episodes and would return in late 2018. [22] On July 8, 2019, it was announced that eight additional Season 3 episodes would air, beginning on August 13, 2019. [23]

On December 1, 2020, Conover confirmed the show's conclusion on his website while announcing the development of a new original series for Netflix called The G Word . [24] On January 18, 2022, Conover revealed that the show was canceled in late 2019 following job cuts and other cost-cutting measures that affected TruTV in the aftermath of AT&T's 2018 acquisition of Time Warner. [25] [26]

Reception

Adam Ruins Everything has received positive reviews from critics. Reviewing the series premiere, The New York Times reviewer Neil Genzlinger wrote, "Adam Conover's new television series isn't the first dedicated to the fine art of debunking, but it's one of the most entertaining." [27] Reviewing the second season, The Wall Street Journal critic John Anderson wrote, "In short, he's irritating. But he owns it. Which makes his quasi-educational comedy series so goofily endearing." [28] Writing in Fast Company , Christine Champagne described Conover as "the lovechild of Debbie Downer and the coolest, most contrarian college professor you ever had." [29]

TruTV president Chris Linn stated in a 2018 interview that the show is "a breakout hit" for the network, and that TruTV's research has found that viewer "sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, even for people who don't agree with [Conover]. They appreciate his approach." [30]

Reviews have praised Adam Ruins Everything's ability to encourage critical thinking and change its minds using comedy and facts, even when viewers have strongly-held beliefs to the contrary. Writing in the Pacific Standard , Andy Dehnart said:

While one show may not singlehandedly slow society's metastasizing ignorance or save critical thinking, it does offer a highly effective model for overcoming the roadblocks between our brains and reality... There is so much resistance to having our ideological and filter bubbles popped that we protect them and fight off any perceived threats. But instead of coming at our bubbles with sharp swords of facts and judgment, Adam Conover sidles up in his own bubble, tells us a story, mocks himself, and lays out some facts. He's humble, informed, and human. With that combination, he's demonstrating a formula we might all use to attract, not repel, each other. [30]

Adam Ruins Everything has found use by educators in the classroom. In a paper entitled "Adam Ruins Everything, Except Economics", Pennsylvania State University teaching professors Jadrian Wooten and James Tierney wrote that "Adam Ruins Everything touches on many economics topics that are relevant to introductory-level courses" and went on to describe how segments from the show could be used to teach concepts in economics. [31]

Criticism

Writing in The Verge , Sean O'Kane criticized the episode "Adam Ruins Going Green"'s representation of a report on electric cars by Slate magazine. He wrote:

When Conover makes this crucial argument in the video, he cites a piece written by Slate's senior technology writer Will Oremus in 2013–a piece that's more about the difficulty of parsing all this information than it is about how electric cars might be dirty. What's more, Oremus spends a large chunk of his article explaining that how 'clean' your electric car is will vary depending on where you live, because different parts of the country use different percentages of these fuel sources to generate electricity. [32]

A similar argument against the episode was leveled by Fred Lambert of the pro-EV publication Electrek. [33] Adam Conover and researcher Peter Miller released a response to O'Kane's op-ed, in which they stated:

Unfortunately, while the rise of EVs is an encouraging trend, the evidence shows that in many cases replacing an efficient working car with an EV like a Tesla will actually increase your carbon footprint. O'Kane's piece presents no evidence that refutes this. In fact, behind the strong words, O'Kane affirms nearly every major point from our segment, and he argues against points we do not actually make. [34]

The episode "Emily Ruins Adam Ruins Everything" functioned as a "corrections" episode, in which Conover and Axford revealed and discussed factual errors the show made over the preceding season. In this episode, Conover stood by the facts presented in the "Going Green" episode but argued that the presentation could have been clearer, stating, "If that many people misread our argument, we should have done a better job explaining it." [35]

Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, a chemist and science journalist working for Germany's public broadcasting, criticized a portion of the episode "Adam Ruins Science" about animal testing for making what she called misleading claims about scientists and misquoting sources. [36]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 2712September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29)December 22, 2015 (2015-12-22)
15August 23, 2016 (2016-08-23)December 27, 2016 (2016-12-27)
2 2616July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
6March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)April 24, 2018 (2018-04-24)
4November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27)December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18)
3 124January 8, 2019 (2019-01-08)January 29, 2019 (2019-01-29)
8August 13, 2019 (2019-08-13)October 1, 2019 (2019-10-01)

International broadcast

In Canada, the series premiered on January 12, 2017, on Much. [37] The series is broadcast on SBS Viceland in Australia. [38] The series premiered on Netflix for the United States on September 30, 2018. [39] [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TruTV</span> American cable and satellite television channel

TruTV is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows, as well as sports programming produced by TNT Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CollegeHumor</span> American Internet comedy company

CH Media, doing business as Dropout, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles which produces content for release on its streaming service, Dropout, and on YouTube. It was originally founded as the CollegeHumor website, created by Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen in 1999, and was owned by InterActiveCorp (IAC) from 2006 until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the website shut down. The current CEO of CH Media is Sam Reich, a veteran performer and former Chief Creative Officer of CollegeHumor, who purchased the company in 2020 from IAC. In September 2023, the company formally dropped the CollegeHumor branding in favor of its Dropout branding, which originated with its streaming service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tenderloins</span> Comedy troupe

The Tenderloins are an American comedy troupe composed of James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano. The group stars in the television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered on December 15, 2011. The program airs on truTV and TBS in the U.S. and on Comedy Central in the UK, Ireland, and India.

NCIS is an American military police procedural television series and the first installment in the NCIS media franchise. The series revolves around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres with comedy. The concept and characters were initially introduced in two episodes of the CBS series JAG. A spin-off from JAG, the series premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. To date, it has entered into the 20th full season and has gone into broadcast syndication on the USA Network. Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill are co-creators and executive producers of the premiere member of the NCIS franchise. As of 2022, NCIS is the third-longest-running scripted, live-action U.S. prime-time TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present) and Law & Order ; it is the seventh-longest-running scripted U.S. prime-time TV series overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finn the Human</span> Fictional character in the animated series Adventure Time

Finn Mertens, better known as Finn the Human, is a character and one of the two protagonists in the American animated television series Adventure Time and resulting franchise created by Pendleton Ward. He also appeared in the spin-off series Adventure Time: Distant Lands and Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. He was voiced by Jeremy Shada in most appearances. The character made his debut in the original pilot, where he is named Pen and voiced by Zack Shada, Jeremy's older brother. Jonathan Frakes voices Finn as an adult in some appearances.

<i>Impractical Jokers</i> American hidden camera reality show with improvisational elements

Impractical Jokers is an American hidden camera comedy and reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, Impractical Jokers premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011, starring the members of The Tenderloins: James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Sal Vulcano, and formerly Joe Gatto. In March 2024, it was announced that the series will relocate to TBS, who originally simulcast the tenth season, due to a programing network overhaul at truTV. Despite this, the latter will continue to air reruns.

<i>The Chris Gethard Show</i> American TV series or program

The Chris Gethard Show is a phone-in comedy and variety talk show created and hosted by Chris Gethard. Initially a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, the show debuted on public-access channel Manhattan Neighborhood Network on June 22, 2011. In 2015, it moved to the cable channel Fusion, where it ran for two seasons before moving to truTV in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bohannon</span> American science journalist and scientist

John Bohannon is an American science journalist and scientist who is Director of Science at Primer, an artificial intelligence company headquartered in San Francisco, California. He is known for his career prior to Primer as a science journalist and Harvard University biologist, most notably with his "Gonzo Scientist" online series at Science Magazine and his creation of the annual "Dance Your PhD" contest. His investigative journalism work includes:

<i>Six Degrees of Everything</i> 2015 American TV series or program

Six Degrees of Everything is a 30-minute American comedy reality show developed by Fine Brothers Entertainment & Marc Summers Productions for TruTV, and starring the Fine Brothers as the series hosts. The program debuted August 18, 2015 on TruTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Conover</span> American comedian, writer, voice actor, and television host (born 1982/1983)

Adam Conover is an American comedian, writer, voice actor, television host, and labor organizer. He created and hosted the half-hour truTV show Adam Ruins Everything, based on the CollegeHumor series of the same name. He was also the host of the American version of The Crystal Maze on Nickelodeon. In 2022, Conover's limited series The G Word with Adam Conover debuted on Netflix. Conover currently serves on the board of the Writers Guild of America West.

<i>BoJack Horseman</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the animated television series BoJack Horseman premiered on Netflix on July 22, 2016. As with the first two seasons, season 3 consists of 12 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Reich</span> American producer, writer, and actor (born 1984)

Samuel Dalton Reich is an American writer, producer, comedian, actor and media executive. He is best known for his work with Dropout, of which he is now the CEO, including hosting the web series Game Changer and its spin-off Make Some Noise, as well as his work on TruTV's Adam Ruins Everything.

David Olmstead Conover is an American marine biologist and professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. He was the Vice President for Research at Stony Brook University and operations manager for the SUNY Research Foundation, and until his retirement in 2020 he was Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Oregon. He is known for his research on the ecology of marine fishes and fisheries. His son is Adam Conover, host of Adam Ruins Everything, and his daughter is Emily Conover, scientific journalist at Science News.

Brian Kevin Patrick Murphy is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his various roles in CollegeHumor videos, his role as Murph on truTV comedy original Adam Ruins Everything, and his role on the Pop original Hot Date, co-starring with his wife Emily Axford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Axford</span> American actress, writer and producer

Emily Joanne Axford is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her various roles in CollegeHumor videos, her role as Emily on the truTV comedy Adam Ruins Everything, and for her role on the Pop original Hot Date, co-starring her husband, Brian K. Murphy.

<i>Tacoma FD</i> American television sitcom (2019–2023)

Tacoma FD is an American television sitcom set in a firehouse in Tacoma, Washington. The series premiered on March 28, 2019, on truTV. In November 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season, premiering on July 20, 2023. In February 2024, the series was canceled after four seasons.

Emily Conover is an American science journalist, best known for being the only two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers Association's Newsbrief award. As of 2016, she has been a reporter for American bi-weekly magazine Science News.

<i>The G Word</i> 2022 comedy and documentary series

The G Word with Adam Conover is a 2022 American documentary comedy show on Netflix created by Adam Conover. The show discusses topics and their connection to the federal government of the United States, with "the g word" referring to 'government.' The show is produced by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and his wife, Michelle Obama. Each episode examines a different aspect of the government, loosely based on the book The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis.

Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks is an American comedy television series that premiered on January 3, 2018 on truTV. Hosted by Cipha Sounds, the show centers on reenactment skits voiced by comedians. The second season premiered November 8, 2019. On January 24, 2020, the series was canceled after two seasons.

References

  1. 1 2 Adam Ruins Everything (Documentary, Animation, Comedy), Adam Conover, Adam Lustick, Emily Axford, Nice Little Day, 2015-09-29, retrieved 2024-04-12{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ↑ Adam Conover, Adam Ruins Everything, XOXO Festival, 9 September 2018 – via YouTube
  3. 1 2 "'Adam Ruins Everything' Creator Adam Conover on Making Difficult Truths Into Comedy". Observer. 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. ↑ "Review: TruTV's 'Adam Ruins Everything' Challenges Beliefs About Giving". The New York Times . September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  5. ↑ Adam Conover On The TruTV Series, "Adam Ruins Everything" . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via www.youtube.com.
  6. ↑ Adam Ruins Everything - Ever Wonder Why: It's A Wonderful Life . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via www.youtube.com.
  7. ↑ Greene, Steve (October 25, 2016). "'Adam Ruins Everything' Makes the Case That America's Going to Be OK". IndieWire. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  8. ↑ Murphy, Laura (2017-08-29), Emily Ruins Adam Ruins Everything, Adam Conover, Emily Axford, Taylor Blackwell, retrieved 2024-04-12
  9. ↑ Emily Axford & Brian Murphy Interviewed at Adam Ruins Everything Event #AdamRuinsEverything #truTV . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via www.youtube.com.
  10. ↑ Adam Ruins Everything . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via tvtropes.org.
  11. 1 2 Adam Ruins Everything (TV Series 2015–2019) - IMDb . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via www.imdb.com.
  12. ↑ Emily Ruins Adam . Retrieved 2024-04-12– via www.youtube.com.
  13. ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything / Characters". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  14. ↑ Whitney Friedlander (January 7, 2016). "'Billy on the Street' Renewed for Season 5 on TruTV". Variety . Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ Wright, Megh (January 7, 2016). "truTV Orders More 'Billy on the Street' and 'Adam Ruins Everything,' Adds 'No Dumb Questions' Pilot". Splitsider.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Turner's truTV Announces 2016-17 Programming Slate with 16 New Creator-Driven Series, Pilots, Specials and Renewals". The Futon Critic . May 10, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  17. ↑ "truTV Reveals Celebrity Guests for Season Five of "Billy on the Street," Announces "Adam Ruins Everything" Election Special". the Futon Critic. July 31, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  18. ↑ Petski, Denise (2016-12-07). "TruTV Renews 'Adam Ruins Everything', 'The Carbonaro Effect'; Greenlights Two New Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  19. ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything". Facebook . Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything". truTV. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  21. ↑ Petski, Denise (2018-01-11). "TruTV Sets Premiere Dates & Guest Stars For 'Talk Show The Game Show', 'Adam Ruins Everything', 'The Chris Gethard Show' & More – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  22. ↑ "TruTV Orders 'Tacoma FD' To Series, Greenlights Ken Jeong Pilot, Renews 'Adam Ruins Everything' & More". Deadline Hollywood . 2018-05-09. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  23. ↑ "truTV Unveils New & Returning Series in 2019-20 Programming Slate". The Futon Critic . May 9, 2019.
  24. ↑ Conover, Adam (December 1, 2020). "Introducing The G Word (and some Adam Ruins Everything news)". Adam Conover. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  25. ↑ Conover, Adam [@adamconover] (January 18, 2022). "Need proof that corporate mega-mergers are bad? Pull up a chair while I tell you the story of how a merger killed not just my show, but also put an entire TV network worth of workers out of a job" (Tweet). Retrieved January 19, 2022– via Twitter.
  26. ↑ Dehnart, Andy (January 18, 2022). "Why Adam Ruins Everything was cancelled". Reality Blurred. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  27. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (September 28, 2015). "Review: TruTV's 'Adam Ruins Everything' Challenges Beliefs About Giving". The New York Times . Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  28. ↑ Anderson, John (August 18, 2016). "'Adam Ruins Everything' Review". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  29. ↑ Champagne, Christine (September 29, 2015). "Spoiler Alert: Adam Conover Hilariously Dispels All Your Beliefs To Teach You a Lesson". Fast Company . Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  30. 1 2 Andy Dehnart (September 17, 2018). "Saving Critical Thinking, One Joke at a Time". Pacific Standard. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  31. ↑ Tierney, James (February 27, 2018). "Adam Ruins Everything, Except Economics". SSRN. SSRN   3125143.
  32. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (December 29, 2016). "The Adam Ruins Everything takedown of electric cars is wrong because it's built on lazy research". The Verge. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  33. ↑ Lambert, Fred (December 28, 2016). "Adam Ruins Everything (including his credibility) when he goes after Tesla and EVs with classic misinformation". Electrek . Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  34. ↑ Conover, Adam; Miller, Peter (2017-01-11). "Adam Ruins Everything Responds to The Verge". Medium. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything Corrects Itself". YouTube . College Humor. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  36. ↑ Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim (November 22, 2017), TIERVERSUCHE: Mai reagiert auf Adam Ruins Everything (in German), de:funk (Medienangebot) , retrieved November 23, 2017
  37. ↑ "Adam Ruins Everything". Much.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Adam Ruins Giving on SBS". SBS . Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Info Page: Adam Ruins Everything". New On Netflix USA. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  40. ↑ Conover, Adam (September 30, 2018). "Adam Ruins Everything on Netflix". Adamconover.net. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.