Actor/comedian Adam Carr (The Call Room) knows from experience how going out on a date can be either the first step in a successful romance or the first misstep in an ongoing search for “the one”. Inspired by the memories of his own dating catastrophes, Carr and a cavalcade of celebrities now share their hilarious memories of hookups gone haywire each Monday on AfterBuzz TV’s outrageous talk show Horribly Hollywood Single.
Hosted by Carr, the show will return with new episodes (all taped at Carr’s home due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown) beginning May 4th on AfterBuzz’s YouTube channel. You can also listen to the show on Apple Podcasts. While Carr and his guests spill all the messy details of their bad dates, viewers can also have their wacky dating stories read and reacted to on the show. (Email Carr here for details on how to get in touch with Horribly Hollywood Single).
Having gotten engaged after launching his new series, Carr views Horribly Hollywood Single as both a therapeutic way to look back on his past dating frustration and as a means of establishing his own personal style of introspective (and often self-deprecating) comedy. Yet as Carr tells Snobby Robot, Horribly Hollywood Single is also a show where his chats with every guest – including his parents, coming in a future episode – reveal precisely how common the pitfalls of “playing the field” truly are.
HORRIBLY HOLLYWOOD SINGLE host, actor/comedian Adam Carr.
Snobby Robot: You’re an actor, comedian and writer (having created the web series The Call Room, which I interviewed you about several years ago for Snobby Robot). Now you’re hosting this podcast, Horribly Hollywood Single. How did you get into podcasting?
Adam Carr (host, Horribly Hollywood Single): Originally, I began my quest to host my show over 10 years ago at The Geffen Playhouse. I have worked there at the bar for almost 14 years. Keven Undergaro and Maria Menounos (co-founders of AfterBuzz TV) were seeing a show and stayed outside with their dogs.
They happened to meet my good friend (who also worked at The Geffen) Beth Behrs, who would go on to star in 2 Broke Girls and The Neighborhood. After they talked to Beth, Beth came onboard to help cast their new indie feature Serial Buddies (the first serial killer buddy comedy). Beth got me in to audition (because she’s the best friend that talks you up to famous people) and Keven ended up writing a role for me in the feature. We spent a month in Connecticut shooting (Serial Buddies) almost 11 years ago.
Flash forward to last June. Beth and I were both in China working on her new movie, Twin Blades (holy crap, we dodged a bullet there). I got a Facebook notification that the Serial Buddies shoot was exactly 10 years ago. I wrote Keven an email saying I’d love to catch up. We met when I was back at AfterBuzz in July and discussed my brand of bad dating and drunken nights of debauchery and how to best implement that into an Afterbuzz show.
The podcast was directly birthed from that meeting. A few months later, I became an AfterBuzz host and we shot the pilot with (actor/comedian) Nicole Burch in October. The show launched the first week of November 2019, which coincidentally was when I got engaged.
SR: Talk about how Horribly Hollywood Single came together, and what inspired it.
AC: I had been writing the script for my feature Adam Bomb with my fiancé and had a development meeting with Keven. During the meeting, we discussed my brand and what I was working on. When I was single, I used to be that guy with crazy stories that nobody believed kept happening to him on a regular basis. I was falling over myself drunk in dating apps. To say I was a romantic disaster was an understatement. It seemed only natural to adapt that former lifestyle to the podcast universe.
SR: In what ways have your own bad dating experiences in L.A. influenced you to create Horribly Hollywood Single?
AC: To say I was a hot mess when I was single is an understatement. There was basically an IV of Jameson (popular liquor) in me at all times. I was on 8 different dating apps. It was like a part-time job except I wasn’t good at it. I realized after a while (that) I was that “guy” who had these stories, and I enjoyed making people laugh at my expense. Somewhere in there I dated a sex addict, got blackmailed on Skype by a gold digger and took out a homeless girl. I was a walking blueprint for the eventual show.
L-R: Carr with his first guest on HORRIBLY HOLLYWOOD SINGLE, actor/comedian Nicole Burch.
SR: Which guests will be appearing next on the show?
AC: The only thing more awkward than talking about bad dates is discussing them with your parents! I’ll be having my folks on, (plus) Spider One (lead singer of heavy metal band Powerman 5000) and various other comics and performers from L.A. The one silver lining of this pandemic is now that the show’s done remotely, I can have guests on from anywhere in the world!
SR: You’ve had so many great guests on the show since it started last November. Are there any that stand out to you in terms of the stories they’ve told about their bad dates?
AC: My very first guest (actor/comedian) Nicole Burch will always be a favorite. She was absolutely hysterical and not afraid to make fun of herself as we did the interview. Her story is also amazing. You have to listen to it if you haven’t heard it yet. My favorite people to interview are always improv people. They go with the flow, no matter what.
SR: Of all the stories you’ve heard from your guests about their dating disasters, which was the funniest and why?
AC: I had Lindsey Shaw of Pretty Little Liars (on the podcast) with our mutual friend Lyndsi LaRose from Ant-Man and I have to say, Lyndsi stole the show. She was so completely hysterical and had us all in stitches. (She’s an) absolutely brilliant storyteller.
SR: What’s the funniest bad date story you’ve heard from a listener?
AC: It involved an L.A. date where the lady got back into the guy’s car with dog crap on her shoe. This poor girl started to smell dog crap in the car as they headed home. The guy cranks up the heat to make it go away (rookie mistake) and the entire car now reeks of dog crap. The guy ended up freaking out and not wanting to continue the date. Tough luck.
SR: How has doing Horribly Hollywood Single helped you – in a therapeutic way – to look back on the mishaps you’ve had on the dating scene?
AC: It’s shown me mostly just how desperate for a connection I was back then. I was so eager to meet and try and manufacture “moments” and make things just like the movies. Real life is not the movies. It’s much darker and you really have to find the silver linings. I didn’t really start dating and getting to know someone till I met my fiance. She was a game-changer for me. Now when I have single guests on, I recognize that same look in their eyes that I used to have. They’re seeking connection in an emotionally starved and narcissistic environment.
L-R: Carr and one of his most recent guests on HORRIBLY HOLLYWOOD SINGLE, AfterBuzz TV co-founder Keven Undergaro.
SR: Besides the podcast, what other projects are you working on and when can we expect to see them?
AC: Another podcast I’ll be working on bringing back with AfterBuzz TV is the Unproduced Scripted podcast, where we take scripts online that haven’t sold and bring on some known talent to read roles and have a good time. Be sure to check my page for updates and details!
SR: Finally, what do you hope people take away from listening to (and watching) Horribly Hollywood Single?
AC: We are all connected when it comes to bad dates. No matter your race, gender, economic background, sexual orientation (or) bad dates are a universal common denominator. There’s such a divisive spirit right now in the country. I want people to tune in each week and enjoy (the show). Life is crazy enough, come to my page and listen to some bad dates. You’ll laugh, and hopefully you’ll commiserate over your misery of failed love with others. You’re never alone on my show!
Find out more about Adam Carr and Horribly Hollywood Single on Carr’s web site:
Submit your dating horror stories to the show by emailing Carr at [email protected]
Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/horribly-hollywood-single-with-adam-carr/id1486288274
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ZW-x-bNImv-igbV9HXfRw
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HorriblySingle
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/horriblyhollywoodsingle/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/horriblyhollywoodsingle/