That means Friedland plays a hybrid role—not just as onscreen talent but also as the behind-the-scenes talent booker. Can I get them on the show?—or just to get information. It feels very 1990s Hollywood.” The Cum Town podcast alum is aware that his methods can often be unwelcome in a culture that has normalized the pre-call-alert text.
Last season, when he wanted to interview the journalist Olivia Nuzzi, he admittedly rang her so many times that she finally acquiesced. The day I speak to him on, yes, the phone, he’s prepping for three consecutive interviews. To do so, he draws from the extensive research his staff compiles and maps out a game plan.
He took, for instance, a whole two weeks to “go crazy” on the concept of Alec Baldwin. GQ: Thanks for taking the time to chat. Adam Friedland: No problem.
I hope this’ll be not the most boring interview you’ve ever had, but we’ll see. I’ll let you know at the end. Is there a particular theme or uniting vision for season three of the show?
More politics ahead of the primaries? The show’s grown pretty much since its inception, so it’s just continuing that trajectory. First and foremost, it’s a comedy show, so I want everything to be at least interesting and to speak to something more cultural than political.
I know I’ve kind of veered from that territory in a couple of instances, but the happy medium is kind of like the Gavin Newsom episode we had, which was sufficiently funny and weird and substantive at points. But I think when comedians go politics, you stop being funny. So if I can’t find something interesting or compelling or something that speaks to a cultural moment, then I’m not too keen on going in that direction, but we’ll see.
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