Latest news with #Maron
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marc Maron's ‘WTF' Podcast Ending in the Fall: 'We're Burnt Out'
Marc Maron's WTF with Marc Maron Podcast is ending after 16 years. Maron announced the news on his Monday show, saying, 'It's nice to be able to end things on our own terms. We started the show on our terms. We grew it on our terms, and we'll end it on our terms.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Joy Reid Launching New Video Podcast in Post-Cable TV Push (Exclusive) MLB Legend Ken Griffey Jr. and ESPN Analyst Michael Collins to Host Golf Series for Hartbeat (Exclusive) 'Mythbusters' Veterans Kari Byron and Tory Belleci to Launch 'Mythfits' Podcast (Exclusive) Maron and his producing partner Brendan McDonald made the decision together, he said, explaining that the pair behind the two-team groundbreaking podcast are simply burnt out. 'WTF will turn 16 years old on Sept. 1. Sixteen years, it's a long time. It's a long time to do anything,' he said to open his show, which welcomed on guest John Mulaney. 'All of a sudden, you're old and you realize you've been doing something for a long time. This started in the old garage. No one knew what a podcast was. I was coming out of a horrendous divorce. I was wanting to figure out how to continue living my life. Things were not looking good for me.' He continued, 'When Brendan and I started this thing, all we knew was that we were going to do it e very Monday and Thursday. And there was no way to make money. There was no way that we knew how to build an audience or anything. We were doing it in the garage in the beginning that was just a garage filled with junk. And it slowly evolved into the show that became what you listen to twice a week. Sixteen years we've been doing this and we've decided that we had a great run and now, basically, it's time, folks, It's time. WTF is coming to an end and it's our decision.' The final episode will be some time in the fall, and Maron said they will try to have as many people on as possible before they end in what he called the 'home stretch.' 'Thankfully, we both realized, together, that we were done,' Maron, 62, continued in the announcement. 'There was no convincing or pushback or arguing. We were done. And it's OK. It's OK for things to end. … This was a show that started when there were no podcasts. And now, there is nothing but podcasts.' The GLOW star said this doesn't mean he won't ever have a talk or appear on a podcast again, but that he's looking forward to starting another chapter. 'We have put up a new show every Monday and Thursday for almost 16 years and we're tired,' he made clear. 'We're burnt out. And we are utterly satisfied with the work we've done.' Maron thanked the iconic podcast's fans while teasing his new chapter, which includes his new Apple show with Owen Wilson Stick releasing on Wednesday and the documentary focused on him, Are We Good? directed by Steven Feinartz, that follows the podcaster-comedian-actor as he deals with the loss of his partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton, who died in 2020, amid a shifting comedy landscape. Maron is also working on a new comedy special for HBO set to release this year, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The special filmed in New York City in May. WTF has remained a top, most-streamed and downloaded podcast since it launched on Sept. 1, 2009, and now boasts nearly 2,000 episodes and more than 55 million listens per year. He's interviewed actors, comedians and icons ranging from Robin Williams, Keith Richards and Nicole Kidman to former President Barack Obama. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Mulaney Explains Why He Declined Offer to Host 2024 Oscars
John Mulaney is opening up about turning down the hosting gig for the 2024 Oscars. While appearing on Marc Maron's WTF podcast on Monday — the same episode in which Maron announced his podcast would be ending after 16 years — the comedian explained why he decided not to emcee the awards show. More from The Hollywood Reporter Roy Wood Jr. Mocks White House, CNN and Patti LuPone in Peabody Awards Monologue 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 Premiere Date Set at Netflix How Reginald Hudlin and Shola Lynch Put Together the Greatest Call Sheet Ever 'Well, I was very flattered. They came to me, must have been last summer. And I knew Jimmy Kimmel wasn't gonna do it. And they offered it,' he began. 'And it was honestly that I had a lot going on. And it's months and months of work.' The Hollywood Reporter had reported that the first outreach had gone to Kimmel, who's already emceed the Academy Awards four times. But Kimmel ultimately said no, as he reportedly did hosting this year's Emmy awards, which also aired on ABC. Conan O'Brien went on to to host the 97th Academy Awards. Mulaney sang O'Brien's praises for his hosting tenure. 'He came out and he not only was so funny, but he elevated the show to the point that I almost convinced myself I had seen these movies and I'd seen not a one of them,' he quipped. Maron added he was also proud O'Brien 'just locked in and owned the fucking thing' when hosting rather than resort to 'self-erasing,' which Maron says he has noticed with O'Brien because he's known him for so long and has watched him 'do a joke' then 'kind of take it apart.' Mulaney recently launched the Netflix talk show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. Mulaney said 'there was a plan to do more' and that they were 'figuring it out.' And though 'it's been very enjoyable,' he also noted that he has 'really felt the 12 weeks in a row' of doing the show. 'We would scale back what we were doing if we were doing it everyday,' Mulaney explained. When describing the talk show, Mulaney said it was an 'evergreen, weird, not quite any era talk show that also is trying to be a variety show in some ways. 'It was more than just that we got to try a lot of bits and jokes and have guests on,' he said. 'We just got to try whole episodes where it felt very shoestring and episodes where we were blowing it out production-wise.' When attending the Next on Netflix event in January, Mulaney had first teased the talk show as a 'really fun experiment.' Guests have included Pete Davidson, Henry Winkler, Bill Hader, David Letterman and Natasha Lyonne. 'It's one of those shows that neither Netflix nor I really needed to do,' Mulaney said at the time. 'I never wanted to host a talk show and they were getting out of the talk show game. It was the perfect moment to do this.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Marc Maron to end his ‘WTF' podcast after 15 years of interviewing comics, actors, musicians, Obama
LOS ANGELES: Comic and actor Marc Maron said Monday that he's ending his popular and influential podcast 'WTF with Marc Maron' after nearly 16 years. Maron said on a newly released episode that the last of the nearly 2,000 episodes he has hosted will be released later this year. 'Sixteen years we've been doing this, and we've decided that we had a great run,' Maron said. 'Now, basically, it's time, folks. It's time. 'WTF' is coming to an end. It's our decision. We'll have our final episode sometime in the fall.' The 61-year-old Maron said he and producing partner Brendan McDonald are 'tired' and 'burnt out' but 'utterly satisfied with the work we've done.' Maron was a veteran stand-up comic who had dabbled in radio when he started the show in 2009, at a time when stand-ups were trying out the form in big numbers, and many listeners still downloaded episodes on to iPods.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Marc Maron to end his ‘WTF' podcast after 15 years of interviewing comics, actors, musicians, Obama
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comic and actor Marc Maron said Monday that he's ending his popular and influential podcast 'WTF with Marc Maron' after nearly 16 years. Maron said on a newly released episode that the last of the nearly 2,000 episodes he has hosted will be released later this year. 'Sixteen years we've been doing this, and we've decided that we had a great run,' Maron said. 'Now, basically, it's time, folks. It's time. 'WTF' is coming to an end. It's our decision. We'll have our final episode sometime in the fall.' The 61-year-old Maron said he and producing partner Brendan McDonald are 'tired' and 'burnt out' but 'utterly satisfied with the work we've done.' Maron was a veteran stand-up comic who had dabbled in radio when he started the show in 2009, at a time when stand-ups were trying out the form in big numbers, and many listeners still downloaded episodes on to iPods. The show early on was often about Maron talking through his beefs with fellow comedians, but it soon stood out and became a widely heard and medium-defining show with its thoughtful, probing longform interviews of cultural figures. It became a key stop on press tours for authors, actors and musicians and reached a peak when then- President Barack Obama visited Maron's makeshift Los Angeles garage studio for an episode in 2015. Maron used a simple interview style to get guests to share stories they'd rarely told elsewhere. Seeking to know the biggest influences on their lives and careers, Maron would ask, 'Who are your guys?' Other memorable episodes include a 2010 personal and emotional interview with Robin Williams that was re-posted and widely listened to after Williams' death in 2014. The episode earned a place in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Maron kept doing standup specials and expanded his acting career while the show aired, including a three-season run on the Netflix series 'GLOW.' The show's guitar-rock theme song opened with a clip of Maron shouting, 'Lock the gates!' in his role as a promoter in the film 'Almost Famous.' The solo episode openings became a confessional space for Maron where he talked about his life, relationships, years of doing stand-up comedy and struggles with drug addiction. Maron gave tearful tribute to his girlfriend, director Lynn Shelton , in the episode after her death in 2020. 'People who listen to the podcast know me pretty well, and it's all good. They have a relationship with me that's one sided, but it's real and I try to be as gracious about that as possible,' Maron told The Associated Press in 2019. 'My particular little slice of the show business world is very me specific and it's very personal and usually that's a good thing. But I've had to learn how to balance how much of my life I reveal and what I keep to myself, and try to find a little space.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Podcasting titan to end hit show this fall
One of the most prominent and prolific interviewers in podcasting is planning on hanging up the microphone this fall. Marc Maron's 'WTF' podcast will come to an end after more than 1,600 episodes, he announced Monday. 'Sixteen years we've been doing this, and we've decided that we had a great run,' Maron said on the intro to Monday's episode, which features comedian John Mulaney. 'Now, basically, it's time, folks. It's time. 'WTF' is coming to an end. It's our decision. We'll have our final episode sometime in the fall.' Citing burnout, Maron will leave behind a legacy of making news with some of the biggest figures in entertainment, politics and culture, largely from the garage of his Los Angeles home. While then-President Barack Obama's appearance in 2015 drew perhaps the most attention — Obama used the N-word when discussing race relations in America — 'WTF' also frequently featured significant revelations about celebrities' personal lives. Leaning on his own past with addiction and an up-and-down career in comedy, Maron has sat down with 'Saturday Night Live' creator Lorne Michaels and comedians like Robin Williams and Pete Davidson, drawing out revelations like Todd Glass' publicly announcing for the first time that he is gay. Maron also has hosted A-list stars like Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt and the elusive Leonardo DiCaprio. Maron added on Monday that he and producer Brendan McDonald do not plan to coast into the show's end, as they'll 'try to have as many people on as possible.' Looking at what's already been accomplished, however, Maron noted how 'WTF' altered his career. 'Because of the podcast, my life changed dramatically … I did the podcast as sort of a hail Mary pass to be a standup with an audience, to try my hand at acting, to have experiences with other people that were one-of-a-kind and completely exciting and unique and engaging and revealing, to talk to a president in my garage,' Maron said. 'So many things happened because of just setting up a mic in my garage with Brendan on the knobs, producing it, discussing with him how we do it all, it was a real creative partnership. And you, the audience have been here through all of it. I shared everything I could with you because that's the way I do it, and with my guests, and there've been so many amazing guests … And now, this is part of it, ending it the way we want it to end.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
