The Adam Friedland Show
| The Adam Friedland Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring | Adam Friedland |
| Theme music composer |
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| Composer | Christian Lopetz |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 55 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Running time | 26–93 minutes |
| Production companies | Funny Moms International Mullen Media (season 1) Jomax Productions (season 2–present) |
| Original release | |
| Release | October 31, 2022 – present |
The Adam Friedland Show is a YouTube talk show hosted by comedian Adam Friedland, in which he conducts long form comedic interviews with public figures on a set modeled after the set of The Dick Cavett Show. The show, referred to as TAFS for short, has been host to guests from a variety of fields, including athletes (Blake Griffin), musicians (Chance the Rapper), actors (Sarah Jessica Parker), comedians (Shane Gillis), filmmakers (Paul Schrader), businesspeople (Dave Portnoy), journalists (Olivia Nuzzi), influencers (Amelia Dimoldenberg), and politicians (Zohran Mamdani). The show was created by Friedland and comedian Nick Mullen and debuted on October 31, 2022. As of 2025, there have been two seasons of The Adam Friedland Show. The show started to receive more critical acclaim in its second season, with GQ calling Friedland a potential "millennial Jon Stewart."[1]
Production
Development
From 2016 to 2022, Adam Friedland, Stavros Halkias, and Nick Mullen co-hosted Cum Town, one of the most successful comedy podcasts of the decade preceding The Adam Friedland Show.[2] When Halkias announced that he was departing Cum Town in June of 2022,[3] Friedland and Mullen ended the show and revealed plans for a spin-off production—The Adam Friedland Show—a YouTube talk show to be hosted by Friedland and produced by Mullen. Turning Friedland, who was often the butt of jokes on Cum Town, into the star of a new program, began as mostly a joke; though, over time he grew into the role.[2]
In August of 2022, Friedland and Mullen began releasing test episodes of The Adam Friedland Show on Patreon while the set was being constructed. These episodes were shot on the unfurnished studio, and episodes of a companion podcast The Adam Friedland Show Podcast began being released as well.[4]
Season one
The set for The Adam Friedland Show was completed in the fall of 2022 and modeled after that of The Dick Cavett Show.[5] The show aired its first official episode on Halloween, 2022, with Adam hosting in a loose brown suit. The first episode saw Adam, co-host Nick Mullen, and guest Shane Gillis all in Halloween costumes throughout the episode, with Mullen as Dracula and Gillis as Frankenstein.[6]
Following the second episode, Mullen stopped appearing as co-host to focus on producing the show and acting in character bits. Most episodes for the rest of the season featured an opening pre-taped sketch taking place behind the scenes of the show, usually with Friedland as himself and Mullen as either himself, the show's producer Dracula, or political blogger Jeff Tiedrich's demented nephew Marty Tiedrich. Two later episodes in the season, the Rob Schneider episode and the Paul Schrader episode, each opened on a more elaborate short film. The Schrader episode featured Adam Friedland's Taxi Driver, an elaborate short about Friedland making a Taxi Driver parody in which he plays all the parts,[7] and the Schneider episode featured Nick & Adam 1998, a short film written and directed by Mullen about 11-year-old versions of Friedland and Mullen going to see the movie The Waterboy. Sopranos star Drea DeMatteo played Friedland's mother.[8]
Friedland said that in 2023, he "decided to start trying to be a good interviewer."[9]
On January 25, 2025, Mullen departed from the show.[10] Podcast episodes stopped being released, and the show pivoted to focusing on the YouTube talk show. The show no longer featured an opening sketch, instead just focusing on Friedland's interview.
In February 2025, Friedland began releasing a series of episodes called "The Lost Episodes." These were interviews that were recorded in the studio with Drea DeMatteo, Julian Casablancas, Tom Fontana, and Hasan Piker that weren't released within the initial Season One run for various reasons.
Season two
In May 2025, trailers began to release for the show,[11] and Friedland began a press tour with a profile in GQ,[1] as well as numerous podcast appearances promoting his show and personal brand.
On May 28, 2025, Friedland released a surprise announcement, revealing that he had been working on a revamped second season of the show. This season would have a regular weekly release of an hour-long talk show episode. This was a large change compared to the first season's sporadic release over a period of over two years, oftentimes with gaps in production of several months.
Friedland's new season has reached mainstream acclaim, with several favorable write-ups praising his offbeat interview style, the avant-garde production of the show, and his hard-hitting questions. The New Yorker described The Adam Friedland Show as "subversive" and "irresistibly funny".[12]
Friedland's August 27, 2025 interview with Congressman Ritchie Torres, in which Friedland emotionally confronted the politician over his support for Israel, drew a positive response and press coverage, with some calling it a breakthrough moment.[13][14][15] The show also received considerable attention for scoring an interview with New York City mayor elect Zohran Mamdani immediately following his victory.[16]
Format
The show typically begins with a highlight from the interview, the theme song/opening credits, and a short segment where host Adam Friedland addresses the viewer from a room full of audiovisual equipment. After this introduction portion, an interview with that week's guest usually runs for about an hour with an ad break in the middle. Occasionally, there's a segment in between Friedland's intro and the interview.
For most of the first season, the show opened with a metafictional sketch involving Friedland and co-creator Nick Mullen discussing the show and its production, including their feud with fictional producer Dracula (played by Mullen). In early episodes, it was followed by a late night-style monologue in which Friedland comments on recent events, which was then followed by the interview.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 20 | October 31, 2022 | December 12, 2024 | |
| 2 | TBA | May 28, 2025 | TBA | |
Season 1 (2022–2024)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Halloween Special (Shane Gillis)" | October 31, 2022 | |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 102 (Mike Recine)" | November 3, 2022 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Mac DeMarco" | December 7, 2022 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Ghost Of Adam Future (Doug Levinson)" | December 14, 2022 | |
| 5 | 5 | "Bon Jovi (Gene DiNapoli)" | December 21, 2022 | |
|
Note: This is the last episode to use handheld microphones. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Simon Rex" | February 1, 2023 | |
| 7 | 7 | "Ariel Pink" | February 8, 2023 | |
| 8 | 8 | "The Great Debate (Gene DiNapoli and Doug Levinson)" | February 21, 2023 | |
| 9 | 9 | "Jim Norton" | March 6, 2023 | |
| 10 | 10 | "Ernie Hudson" | March 20, 2023 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Norman Finkelstein" | April 3, 2023 | |
| 12 | 12 | "Binging with Babish (Andrew Rea)" | April 27, 2023 | |
|
Note: Adam mentions on the episode that Alan Dershowitz has been booked as a guest, but after Donald Trump's March 2023 indictment two days prior to the taping, Dershowitz stopped responding to emails, so Friedland booked his friend Andrew Rea on short notice.[17] Note: This is the last episode to start with a late night-style monologue. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Neil DeGrasse Tyson" | May 17, 2023 | |
| 14 | 14 | "Chris Cuomo" | June 14, 2023 | |
| 15 | 15 | "Jadakiss" | July 12, 2023 | |
| 16 | 16 | "Chet Hanks" | October 1, 2023 | |
| 17 | 17 | "Dave Portnoy" | November 5, 2023 | |
| 18 | 18 | "Paul Schrader" | March 7, 2024 | |
| 19 | 19 | "Rob Schneider" | October 27, 2024 | |
| 20 | 20 | "Destiny" | December 12, 2024 | |
The lost episodes
Following Nick Mullen's departure from the show in early 2025, The Adam Friedland Show released a quartet of episodes billed as "The Lost Episodes," inspired by the title of Chappelle's Show's "Lost Episodes."[18] These are interviews that were filmed in studio between 2023 and 2024, with new introductions from Friedland filmed in 2025.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "Drea de Matteo" | February 2, 2025 | |
|
Note: Adam Friedland says in the episode that this interview was recorded two months prior to Drea de Matteo acting in Nick Mullen's short "Adam and Nick 1998," which aired during the Rob Schneider episode in 2024, but Mullen suggested holding the episode due to de Matteo's acting role in the short.[18] | ||||
| 22 | 2 | "Julian Casablancas" | February 10, 2025 | |
|
Note: This is the last episode to feature a pre-taped cold open sketch. | ||||
| 23 | 3 | "Tom Fontana" | February 16, 2025 | |
|
Note: This episode was recorded in 2023.[19] | ||||
| 24 | 4 | "Hasan Piker" | April 25, 2025 | |
|
Note: This episode was recorded on May 14, 2024.[20] | ||||
Season 2 (2025–)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "ANTHONY WEINER Talks Scandal, 2016 Election, Hillary Clinton" | May 28, 2025 | Anthony Weiner |
| 26 | 2 | "RO KHANNA Talks Elon Musk, Bernie Sanders, Can We Fix This?" | June 4, 2025 | Ro Khanna |
| 27 | 3 | "SARAH JESSICA PARKER Talks Sex & The City, Hollywood Relationships, New Pope" | June 11, 2025 | Sarah Jessica Parker |
| 28 | 4 | "ANTHONY FANTANO Talks Radiohead, Abbey Road, Drake vs. Kendrick" | June 19, 2025 | Anthony Fantano |
| 29 | 5 | "STEINY Talks Trump, Musk, NELK Boys" | June 26, 2025 | Steiny |
| 30 | 6 | "BLAKE GRIFFIN Talks GOAT Debate, Donald Sterling, Retirement" | July 10, 2025 | Blake Griffin |
| 31 | 7 | "HARRY SISSON Talks Kamala Vs. Trump, Gen Z, Controversy" | July 16, 2025 | Harry Sisson |
| 32 | 8 | "G HERBO Talks Drake Vs. Kendrick, DJ Akademiks, Chiraq" | July 23, 2025 | G Herbo |
| 33 | 9 | "LOGIC Talks Wild Childhood, Music Industry, His New Movie" | August 20, 2025 | Logic |
| 34 | 10 | "RITCHIE TORRES Talks Zionism, LGBT, The Bronx" | August 27, 2025 | Ritchie Torres |
| 35 | 11 | "AMANDA KNOX talks Trial, Amélie, Redemption" | September 3, 2025 | Amanda Knox |
| 36 | 12 | "TAYLOR LORENZ Talks Journalism, Internet Labor, Viral Culture" | September 10, 2025 | Taylor Lorenz |
| 37 | 13 | "RAINN WILSON talks Dwight, Clowning, Baha'i" | September 17, 2025 | Rainn Wilson |
| 38 | 14 | "DAVID HOGG Talks Parkland, DNC, Saving the Party" | September 25, 2025 | David Hogg |
| 39 | 15 | "MIA KHALIFA Talks Viral Fame, Fatwa, Being the GOAT" | October 1, 2025 | Mia Khalifa |
| 40 | 16 | "MICHAEL KNOWLES Talks Theater, Daily Wire, Conservative Media" | October 8, 2025 | Michael Knowles |
| 41 | 17 | "RICHARD KIND Talks Coen Brothers, Death, And George Clooney" | October 15, 2025 | Richard Kind |
| 42 | 18 | "SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY Talks Loneliness Epidemic, Internet, Democratic Coalition" | October 22, 2025 | Chris Murphy |
| 43 | 19 | "CHANCE THE RAPPER Talks Chicago, Mixtapes and Mentors" | October 29, 2025 | Chance the Rapper |
| 44 | 20 | "AMELIA DIMOLDENBERG Talks Chicken, Flirting, and UK Rap" | November 5, 2025 | Amelia Dimoldenberg |
| 45 | 21 | "LINA KHAN Talks FTC, Monopolies, Biden" | November 12, 2025 | Lina Khan |
| 46 | 22 | "WILLIAM H. MACY Talks Fargo, Auditions, PTA" | November 19, 2025 | William H. Macy |
| 47 | 23 | "ZOHRAN MAMDANI Talks Meeting Trump, Mayoral Election, Arsenal" | November 24, 2025 | Zohran Mamdani |
| 48 | 24 | "ALEC BALDWIN Talks 30 Rock, Fatherhood, Trial" | December 3, 2025 | Alec Baldwin |
| 49 | 25 | "NICK WRIGHT Talks LeBron, Skip, Pundit Beef" | December 10, 2025 | Nick Wright |
| 50 | 26 | "OLIVIA NUZZI Talks Trump, RFK Scandal, American Canto" | December 17, 2025 | Olivia Nuzzi |
| 51 | 27 | "KEVIN O'LEARY Talks Shark Tank, Marty Supreme, Millionaire Lifestyle" | December 23, 2025 | Kevin O'Leary |
| 52 | 28 | "DANNY BROWN Talks Diddy, BBWs, 50 Cent" | December 30, 2025 | Danny Brown |
| 53 | 29 | "JOHN C. REILLY Talks Step Brothers, Empathy, New Album" | January 9, 2026 | John C. Reilly |
| 54 | 30 | "SCOTT JENNINGS Talks Bush Presidency, Debates, CNN" | January 13, 2026 | Scott Jennings |
| 55 | 31 | "JON FAVREAU Talks Obama, Bin Laden, ICE" | January 20, 2026 | Jon Favreau |
| 56 | 32 | "CHUCK KLOSTERMAN Talks Football, Violence, American Identity" | January 28, 2026 | Chuck Klosterman |
| 57 | 33 | "FKA TWIGS Talks Stans, Eusexua, Seduction" | February 3, 2026 | FKA Twigs |
| 58 | 34 | "MJ Lenderman CALLS OUT Cameron Winter (not clickbait)" | February 11, 2026 | MJ Lenderman |
Podcast
The show's companion podcast, The Adam Friedland Show Podcast (similar to Cum Town in format), ran weekly from 2022 to 2025. It ceased airing on the show's shift to the talk show only model in 2025, though audio of the main episodes continue to be released on the podcast feed.
The podcast featured a variety of guests, including podcasters Will Menaker and Brace Belden, comedians Mike Recine, Rick Glassman, Jordan Jensen, Brandon Wardell, and Chris Distefano, as well as Jackass star Steve-O and The Sopranos actor Robert Iler. Friedland's former fiancée Dasha Nekrasova also appeared on a non-interview episode, alongside her Red Scare podcast co-host Anna Khachiyan.
Singer Matty Healy's appearance on was a source of controversy, amid rumors of a relationship with Taylor Swift and an apparent call-out by Rina Sawayama during a concert.[21][22] Healy dismissed the outrage as a "bit mental."[23][24][25]
References
- ^ a b Press-Reynolds, Kieran (May 27, 2025). "Adam Friedland Could Be the Millennial Jon Stewart. But Does He Want That?". GQ.
- ^ a b Brickner-Wood, Brady (August 13, 2025). "Adam Friedland's Comedy of Discomforts" – via www.newyorker.com.
- ^ Halkias, Stavros [@stavvybaby] (June 25, 2022). "We had a good run 🤍🤍" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2022 – via Twitter.
Wanted to let everyone know that I'm not a part of cum town anymore.
- ^ "Ep. X010 - TAFS Video Test". Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ Bernstein, Joseph (July 20, 2025). "Who Is Watching All These Podcasts?". The New York Times.
Adam Friedland, a comedian who started his video interview show in 2022, first came to prominence on an irreverent and lewd audio-only hangout podcast with two fellow comedians. [...] Mr. Friedland's show is the rare video podcast with a distinctive visual point of view; the vintage-looking set is a reconstruction of "The Dick Cavett Show."
- ^ "The Adam Friedland Show Ep. 011". Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ "PAUL SCHRADER | Scorsese, Willem Dafoe". March 7, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "ROB SCHNEIDER | SNL, Korean BBQ". October 27, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Adam Friedland (February 16, 2025). "The Adam Friedland Show - The Lost Episodes: Tom Fontana". The Adam Friedland Show (Podcast). All Things Comedy Network. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- ^ Nick Mullen Is Leaving The Adam Friedland Show. January 25, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Season 2 — May 28th" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Brickner-Wood, Brady (August 13, 2025). "Adam Friedland's Comedy of Discomforts". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ "Adam Friedland confronts Ritchie Torres over Israel support | RISING". The Hill. August 29, 2025.
- ^ Good, Anna (August 28, 2025). "Adam Friedland confronted Rep. Ritchie Torres over Israel. Fans are calling it a breakthrough moment". Daily Dot.
- ^ Ferguson, Malcolm (August 28, 2025). "Adam Friedland Rips Democratic Lawmaker in Damning Interview on Israel". The New Republic.
- ^ Adeosun, Adeola; Whisnant, Gabe (November 24, 2025). "Zohran Mamdani reveals "weirdest" thing he saw at White House". Newsweek.
- ^ Adam Friedland (April 27, 2023). "The Adam Friedland Show - Binging with Babish (Andrew Rea)". The Adam Friedland Show (Podcast). All Things Comedy Network. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
- ^ a b Adam Friedland (February 2, 2025). "The Adam Friedland Show - The Lost Episodes: Drea de Matteo". The Adam Friedland Show (Podcast). All Things Comedy Network. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- ^ Adam Friedland (February 16, 2025). "The Adam Friedland Show - The Lost Episodes: Tom Fantana". The Adam Friedland Show (Podcast). All Things Comedy Network. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- ^ Adam Friedland (April 25, 2025). "The Adam Friedland Show - The Lost Episodes: Hasan Piker". The Adam Friedland Show (Podcast). All Things Comedy Network. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- ^ Chery, Samantha (May 25, 2023). "The Matty Healy, Ice Spice (and Taylor Swift) drama, explained". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
While a guest on "The Adam Friedland Show" in February, Healy laughed as the two podcast hosts, Friedland and Nick Mullen, made fun of Ice Spice
- ^ Graye, Megan (February 10, 2023). "Matty Healy sparks backlash over interview that mocks Japanese, Hawaiian and Scottish people". The Independent. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
The 1975 frontman appeared in the latest episode of The Adam Friedland Show with comedians and podcast hosts Friedland and Nick Mullen.
- ^ Tolentino, Jia (May 29, 2023). "Who is Matty Healy?". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Rina Sawayama Calls Out Labelmate Matty Healy at Glastonbury: 'I've Had Enough'". Rolling Stone. June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Taylor's Fans Are Distancing Themselves After Matty Said He Masturbates to Black Women Being "Brutalized"". BuzzFeed. May 15, 2023.
