Loveline

Loveline
Genre Talk, Advice, Comedy
Running time Approximately 93 minutes (Two hours, including commercials)
Country United States United States
Starring Drew Pinsky
Michael Catherwood
Creator(s) Scott Mason
Jim Trenton
Producer(s) Ann Wilkins-Ingold
Website lovelineshow.com
Podcast itpc://www.lovelineshow.com/podcast

Loveline is a syndicated radio call-in program in North America, offering medical and relationship advice to listeners, often with the assistance of guests, typically actors and musicians. Its flagship station is KROQ-FM in Los Angeles. Its hosts are Dr. Drew Pinsky and "Psycho" Mike Catherwood.

Currently, Loveline is broadcast live, Sundays through Thursdays at 10pm–midnight PT (Mondays through Fridays at 1am–3am ET).[1] Syndication is usually on rock, alternative, and adult talk radio stations. Loveline can also be heard online anywhere in the world, by streaming through the websites of affiliate stations.

History

Loveline began in 1983 as a Sunday night dating and relationships segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, hosted by DJ Jim "Poorman" Trenton, DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik), and Scott Mason. After a traumatic break up, Mason announced that he would no longer be hosting the show.

In 1984, Trenton added a segment called "Ask a Surgeon," hosted by his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky, who at the time, was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. The medical segment was pre-dated by an occasional legal segment in which a lawyer would be present to answer legal questions. As Loveline developed and increased its audience, Pinsky became a public figure in his own right, and the show began referring to him informally as "Dr. Drew". He eventually came to co-host the show with Trenton. In February 1992, the show expanded from Sunday nights to five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday. In August 1993 Trenton was replaced by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman.

Pinsky and Rachtman were joined by Adam Carolla in October 1995, as the show was first being syndicated nationally. The trio hosted together for several months, but Carolla and Rachtman often competed for airtime, leading Rachtman to resign in January 1996.[2] Carolla and Pinsky would go on to host the show together until Carolla's departure in November 2005.

The popularity and reach of Loveline increased dramatically in the ten years during which it was hosted by Pinsky and Carolla. The two had a natural chemistry, in which Carolla's jocular tone emphasized Pinsky's reasoned expertise. Together, they refined the format of the show, and capitalized on their growing popularity with speaking tours, a television show on MTV (also titled Loveline), a book, and cameo appearances on television series and movies. In November 2005, Carolla left Loveline to prepare for a new morning radio show, The Adam Carolla Show, which began airing in January 2006.

After Carolla's departure, he was substituted on a temporary basis by numerous celebrity guests, some of whom announced their desire to take the job permanently. During his first appearance on Carolla's new morning show, Pinsky revealed that the shortlist of candidates included Carson Daly, Joel McHale, Danny Bonaduce, Steve-O and Daniel Tosh.[3] On July 23, 2006, KROQ-FM disc jockey Stryker was hired as Pinsky's co-host.

On April 22, 2009, Stryker announced that due to financial cutbacks at Westwood One, he would be leaving the show and it would be his last appearance that night. After Stryker's departure, a number of celebrities guest co-hosted opposite Drew. On March 11, 2010, it was announced that Mike "Psycho Mike" Catherwood from The Kevin and Bean Show would co-host Loveline with Dr. Drew.

After a long stint as a guest host, Simone Bienne was formally brought on as a co-host in December 2011. This followed Westwood One's merger with Dial Global. She was introduced to the show by Dr. Drew through Lifechangers, and is the first female co-host of the radio show.[4] As of November 2012 she is no longer a host.

On December 7, 2012, Adam Carolla rejoined the show for its current tour of the US.[5]

Format

Loveline follows the call-in question-and-answer model with the primary goal of helping youth and young adults with relationship, sexuality, and drug addiction problems through the expertise of Pinsky, an internist and addiction medicine specialist, and the humorous context and insight provided by a comedic host. Adam Carolla explained his role as a "sheep in wolf's clothing".[6] Furthermore, the comedy is often necessary to keep spirits high, as the show frequently handles callers who are dealing with serious issues such as drug addiction, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.

The show will occasionally answer calls of a general medical nature, especially on slow nights or if they seem peculiar. Also, listeners are encouraged to participate in Loveline's many games.

Personalities

Regular hosts

(current hosts in bold)

Recurring fill-ins

For Pinsky (in the case of medical physicians) or Psycho Mike (in the case of usual comedic co-host)

Producers

Radio engineers

The show has had many engineers throughout the years who have developed their own on-air presence. Whether it be conversations with hosts and guests or specific "radio drops" that they have produced usually from clips of previous shows.

Media tie-ins and cultural influence

A TV version of Loveline ran on MTV from 1996–2000; which was produced by Stone Stanley Entertainment. It followed the same general format as the radio program but featured a live audience and a female co-host. The female co-host role was filled over the course of the series by MTV VJ Idalis, actresses Kris McGaha, Catherine McCord, Diane Farr and comedienne Laura Kightlinger. Loveline TV was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios.[7]

The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide to Life and Love, an advice book written in a tone similar to the radio show, was released in 1998.

The series has also spawned a number of Loveline-inspired games that have been mentioned on the show.[8][9][10][11]

Female co-hosts on MTV's Loveline

See also

References

  1. ↑ KROQ-FM—The World Famous KROQ, show listing
  2. ↑ Cowan, Michael (August 9, 1996). "Laying it on the Loveline". Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 13, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "ADAM AND ANASTASIA ASHLEY, DEBORAH NORVILLE, DR. DREW, WILLIAM SHATNER, KID ROCK, PETER GUBER, AND THE GIBSON CONTEST". Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  4. ↑ http://www.ocregister.com/articles/radio-330619-eye-red.html
  5. ↑ Munoz, Matt. "Adam and Dr. Drew still feeling the love". Bakersfield.com. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  6. ↑ Adam Carolla and Drew Pinsky. The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love Dell Books, 1998
  7. ↑ The Adam Carolla Show, April 28, 2008
  8. ↑ Loveline September 11, 2001—First Caller
  9. ↑ Loveline October 19, 2003
  10. ↑ Loveline October 19, 2004
  11. ↑ Loveline February 23, 2003—Third Caller

External links

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