Adam Conover
Conover in 2015
Born1982 or 1983 (age 40–41)
Smithtown, New York, U.S.
EducationShoreham-Wading River High School
Alma materBard College (BA)
Occupation(s)Comedian, Writer, and Show Host
Years active2012–present
Known forAdam Ruins Everything
BoJack Horseman
Board member ofWriters Guild of America West (2021–)
PartnerLisa Hanawalt
Websiteadamconover.net

Adam Conover (born 1982 or 1983)[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] Conover currently serves on the board of the Writers Guild of America West.[4]

Early life

Members of the sketch comedy group Olde English. From left to right: Ben Popik, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, David Segal, Caleb Bark, and Adam Conover

Adam Conover was born in Smithtown, New York,[5] and grew up in Wading River.[6] His parents are David O. Conover, a marine biologist,[7] and Margaret Conover (née Howard), a botanist.[5][6][7] His younger sister, Emily Conover, is a science reporter who holds a PhD in particle physics.[8] His parents' and sibling's degrees led Conover to humorously describe himself as "the only member of the family without a Ph.D."[9]

In 2000, he graduated from Shoreham-Wading River High School, where he became interested in the performing arts. As a teenager, he was part of a band called Bocoach.[10] He then attended Bard College, where, in 2002, he became an active member of the sketch comedy group Olde English.[11] In 2004,[12] he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Bard College.[6]

Career

In 2012, Conover began working as a sketch comedy writer and performer for the comedy website and YouTube channel CollegeHumor, where he eventually created the web series that would go on to become Adam Ruins Everything on TruTV.[6] The first episode of the TruTV show, which aims to reveal untold truths and to dispel common misconceptions,[13] premiered on September 29, 2015. Conover has said his character in the show is a comedic interpretation of the person he worries he once was and/or is. As he told The New York Observer, "It’s the reaction I’ve gotten my whole life: that I learn something and try to tell people in conversation, but when I tell them, they are annoyed."[14]

In March 2016, he was asked to speak at a marketing conference on the subject of millennials; the talk he gave was entitled "Millennials Don't Exist".[15] In 2018, Conover was the headliner of the first night of the annual CSICon conference for skeptics.[16] On August 17, 2018, Conover was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher.[17] On April 17, 2019, Conover was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience.[18]

He has voiced several characters in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman, including A Ryan Seacrest-Type, one of the Paparazzi Birds, and Bradley Hitler-Smith.[6][19] In 2019, he voiced the character of "Big_Hairy_Stallion_69" on the Netflix series Tuca & Bertie, and created the new Earwolf podcast Factually![20][21]

Since 2020, Conover has also acted as the host of an American adaptation of the family game show The Crystal Maze for Nickelodeon.[22]

In November 2020, Conover had a cameo appearance as his character from Adam Ruins Everything in The Eric Andre Show. His character appeared in the show's opening sequence before being beaten to death.[23][24][25]

In December 2020, Conover announced that Adam Ruins Everything was no longer in production and that he was planning a new Netflix series about the federal government called The G Word with Adam Conover. The show premiered on Netflix on May 19, 2022.[26]

Conover at a picket line during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike

Conover serves on the board of the Writers Guild of America West,[4] and sits on the 2023 WGA contract negotiating committee.[27] On May 1, 2023 the WGA contract negotiating committee failed to reach a satisfactory agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the major film and television studios of Hollywood, triggering a strike.[28]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2014–2019 BoJack Horseman A Ryan Seacrest Type, Bradley Hitler-Smith and Paparazzi Blue Jay
2015–2019 Adam Ruins Everything Self
2019 WTF 101 Doctor Gamma CollegeHumor original programming
2019–2021 Tuca & Bertie Joel
2020 The Eric Andre Show Self "Is Your Wife Still Depressed?"
2022 The G Word with Adam Conover Self
2023 Game Changer Self Game Changer: Battle Royale

Personal life

Conover was once a roommate of BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg in New York City, who also introduced him to his girlfriend, illustrator Lisa Hanawalt.[29] Conover quit drinking in early 2018.[30]

Activism

Conover has been an outspoken supporter of Nithya Raman, who challenged and beat David Ryu for the Los Angeles City Council. As an activist for Housing First policies, Conover performed stand-up to fundraise for the campaign and canvassed in support of Raman.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Condran, Ed (August 18, 2022). "Adam Conover promises not to ruin everything when he performs at the Spokane Comedy Club". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 27, 2023. Conover, 39 ...
  2. ↑ Lloyd, Robert (September 26, 2015). "TV Picks: 'Late Show,' 'My Brother's Bomber,' 'Adam Ruins Everything'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ Chu, Hau (May 19, 2022). "What to watch on Thursday: 'The G Word with Adam Conover' debuts on Netflix". Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 @AdamConover (July 24, 2021). "Fellow writers: I'm running for @WGAWest board this year. My candidate statement is linked below, but in this thread I'll explain why I'm running as succinctly as possible. 1) Comedy/Variety 2) Streaming contracts & residuals 3) Organizing for change" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. 1 2 Barkley, Giselle (September 24, 2015). "North Shore native ready to 'ruin' truTV". The Times Beacon Record. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Lovece, Frank (September 28, 2015). "'Adam Ruins Everything': LI's Adam Conover creates witty truTV humor series". Newsday. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Champagne, Christine (September 29, 2015). "Spoiler Alert: Adam Conover Hilariously Dispels All Your Beliefs To Teach You a Lesson". Fast Company. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ Lovece, Frank. "LI's Adam Conover returns for 'Adam Ruins Everything' season 2". Newsday.
  9. ↑ Weissmueller, Zach (February 21, 2016). "What You Think You Know Is Wrong". Reason. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Smith, Nicole (October 8, 2015). "Watch as this Shoreham-Wading River grad 'Ruins Everything'". Riverhead News-Review. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  11. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (October 24, 2016). "Adam Conover Turns a Skeptical Eye to the Presidential Campaign". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "The Exquisite Corpse Project". Bard College. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  13. ↑ Hendrickson, Paula (June 7, 2017). "TruTV's 'Adam Ruins Everything' Promotes Facts in the Age of Fakery". Variety. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  14. ↑ Grant, Drew (September 29, 2015). "'Adam Ruins Everything' Creator Adam Conover on Making Difficult Truths Into Comedy". The Observer. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ Singer, Sarah (March 21, 2016). "This Comedian Just Obliterated All Stereotypes About Millennials in One Presentation". Mic. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ Fidalgo, Paul (2019). "Parasites and modern mind control". Skeptical Inquirer. 43 (2): 15.
  17. ↑ "Real Time with Bill Maher | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  18. ↑ Conover, Adam (April 18, 2019). "Adding Evidence to the Discussion of Trans Issues on Joe Rogan's podcast". adamconover.net. Adam Conover. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  19. ↑ Conover, Adam (May 2, 2017). "Yep! I also play Bradley Hitler-Smith, aka Ethan from Horsin' Around!". @adamconover. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Adam Conover Is The Voice Of Big_Hairy_Stallion69 (Aka Joel)". Refinery29. May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Introducing My New Podcast, Factually!". Adam Conover: Official Site. Tour dates, Podcasts, Blog. May 24, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ Haring, Bruce (December 9, 2019). "'The Crystal Maze' Taps Adam Conover As Host Of New Nickelodeon Family Game Show". Deadline. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Adam Conover's tweet about his appearance on The Eric Andre Show". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Adam Conover's Instagram post about his appearance, featuring a video of his scene". Instagram.
  25. ↑ "Full cast of episode". IMDb.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ "WGA Announces 2023 MBA Negotiating Committee". www.wga.org. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ Kilkenny, Katie (May 1, 2023). "Writers Guild Calls First Strike in 15 Years". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  29. ↑ Havrilesky, Heather (September 7, 2018). "Don't Look BoJack's Gifted Horse-Lady in the Mouth". The Cut. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  30. ↑ Dykes, Brett Michael (April 23, 2018). "Adam Conover Of 'Adam Ruins Everything' Is Loving RSS Feeds Again". Uproxx.
  31. ↑ The Comedy Bureau - "Comedy for the City: A Fundraiser for Nithya Raman"
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