eee Musings

The Kevin Pollak Chat Show

by Elaine on Apr.26, 2009, under Entertainment, New Media

Six weeks ago,  actor/comedian Kevin Pollak threw his hat into the ring as a talk show host.  Going right passed the television networks, Pollak who is a Must Follow on Twitter, was so impressed by the social networking community, he decided to produce a show for his “followers” and air it on the internet.  It’s a mix of Charlie Rose and Dinner For Five,  with a lot more humor,  a bit less production value, and no pesky waiter (actor?) interrupting the talk.  It’s a roaring sucess. Pollak is relaxed, funny and genuine and the show is intimate and engaging in a way that exceeds any talk show on traditional television.

The Kevin Pollak Chat Show has a couple of mottos… The first is  “We’re not ready” and while there have been a few techinal issues, they only add to the show’s charm.  The second and more significant motto is “This is Your Show” and more than anything else I’ve seen online,  KPCS (as it’s referred to on Twitter) is fan-centric and interactive . Viewers can comment and ask questions to Kevin and his guests in a live chatroom or by posting on Twitter.  Fans can submit their original music to be used as the show’s theme music. Every week Kevin plays the game, “Three Degrees of Kevin Pollak” (because Kevin Bacon is a pussy if he needs 6).  The live audience throws out any actor’s name and regardless of how obscure,  so far nobody has stumped Kevin and his crack staff.

Another fan favorite is the weekly Larry King Game.  At the end of each interview,  Kevin asks his guest to do a bad impersonation of Larry King, reveal something personal and throw to the phones using a hopefully funny city name.  This has spawned the Larry King Game on YouTube (see below).

Previous guests have included actors Joe Mantegna and  LaVar Burton, and comedians Doug Benson and Jim Gaffigan.  Last week Kevin hosted Christopher McQuarrie, the writer of The Ususal Suspects and actress Paget Brewster.  The McQuarrie segment alone ran over two hours, but I’d be surprised if anybody watching even took a bathroom break.  Pollak really is that good at this.

The Kevin Pollak Chat Show airs live on Sundays at 5pm PDT from Maholo Studios in Santa Monica.  You can view the show live at Stickam or for more info go to KevinPollakChatShow.com.  Follow Kevin @kevinpollak on Twitter.   This weeks guests are Alex Albrecht,  host of Diggnation and The Totally Rad Show and… yes I’m gonna say it, be still my heart, Golden Globe Winner for his role as Don Draper on AMC’s Madmen… Jon Hamm!

If you’ve missed the first five shows, they are available on itunes.  If you want to post your best (or worst) Larry King impression to the Larry King Game click here.

Here’s our entry… I was behind the camera, as usual.

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4 Comments for this entry

  • martha_s

    I couldn’t have said it better myself. Your post really captures the things that make the show so special.

    As someone who submits questions every week, which Kevin then asks the guests, I appreciate the interactivity of the show very much. It feels like a real grassroots effort, and the community that has come together around the show is awesome. Because of the time that Kevin Pollak allows and the safe space that he creates for his guests, real conversations unfold, where these actors, writers, and tech people aren’t restricted to only sound bites. And those conversations are very compelling and memorable indeed.

    Oh, and your Larry King Game is CLASSIC! You can’t do better than whistling ball sacks… you really can’t.

  • Elaine

    Thanks Martha, your the heart of the KPCS community.

  • Travis

    Perfect. Captures the essence of KPCS.

  • CleverTitania

    I’m on my third week of KPCS (forgot to watch replay last week), and am completely hooked. Kevin and I share a deep love of the stories from here to there, and that’s what I love about his show. He asks the questions I want to know about, and there’s actually time for a thoughtful answer. Malina and Gallo were fantastic this week. I am practically salivating over Dana Carvey next week. Dana and Kevin together for over an hour? Let the impersonations begin!

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