Adam Ruins Everything

Premise

Each episode of Adam Ruins Everything begins with an ordinary person, often played by recurring cast member Emily Axford, stating a common misconception. Adam Conover then appears, introduces himself, and explains the misconceptions related to that statement. This leads to a deeper discussion of widely held falsehoods, where Adam provides historical background on how these ideas became popular, introduces real-life experts, and cites peer-reviewed science studies and other empirical sources.

Citations briefly appear onscreen. The show uses sketch characters, time travel, and animated segments to present information, sometimes to the annoyance of the other character. Near the end of the third act, the other characters become frustrated and demoralized. In the fourth act, Adam offers a positive takeaway, explaining how the new knowledge can provide solutions and how viewers can improve society and their lives.

The first season included interstitial segments titled "Ever Wonder Why?" that briefly explored unrelated subjects. The second season replaced these with extended, out-of-character interviews with experts. In season three, these were replaced with segments in which Emily discusses other subjects related to the main topic. In 2016, TruTV aired "The Adam Ruins Everything Election Special," a historical look at the American presidency and election system filmed before a live audience in Los Angeles, California.

Cast

Adam Conover portrays a fictionalized version of himself as the show's main character, guiding viewers while also acting as a secondary figure in each episode. He challenges widely held beliefs because he is convinced that truth is always preferable, though his tendency to drop uncomfortable facts often strains his social interactions. He regularly frustrates Emily and others, yet Emily grows into his close friend and someone he confides in. Emily Axford plays herself, a teacher who remains Adam's companion despite being a common subject of his corrections; she occasionally beats him to the punch in debunking myths and once hosts an episode that fixes his earlier errors.

Amos Vernon appears as Uncle Sam, a repeating character who lives in Americatown when not helping explain concepts. Brian K. Murphy plays Murph, a high school health and PE teacher who later marries Emily, and his personal experiences often inspire Adam's segments. Hayley Marie Norman plays Hayley, Emily's friend who dates Adam until her character dies in "Adam Ruins Death." Veronica Osorio plays Veronica, another of Emily's friends who loves animals.

River Butcher plays Rhea Conover, Adam's younger sister and a public defender he moves in with after losing his home. Nicole Roberts plays Kendra Perkins, an ex-convict who becomes friends with both Adam and Emily. Punam Patel plays Melinda, Adam's girlfriend whom he meets while both edit the same Wikipedia page. RuPaul plays Gil, Melinda's boss at a high-end water fountain company. Chris Parnell provides narration for the six-part animated series "Reanimated History."

Production

On January 7, 2016, the show was picked up for 14 additional episodes to air starting August 23, 2016. An hour-long election special was later produced. On December 7, 2016, truTV announced a renewal for a 16-episode season premiering July 11, 2017. A miniseries of six animated episodes, subtitled Reanimated History, premiered March 20, 2018. On May 9, 2018, TruTV announced a renewal for 10 more episodes returning in late 2018. On July 8, 2019, eight additional Season 3 episodes were announced, beginning August 13, 2019. On December 1, 2020, Conover confirmed the show's conclusion while announcing a new Netflix series called The G Word. On January 18, 2022, Conover revealed the show was canceled in late 2019 following job cuts and cost-cutting measures after AT&T's 2018 acquisition of Time Warner.

Reception

Adam Ruins Everything received positive reviews from critics. The New York Times reviewer Neil Genzlinger called the series premiere "one of the most entertaining" dedicated to debunking. The Wall Street Journal critic John Anderson described Conover as irritating but owning it, making the show "goofily endearing." Writing in Fast Company, Christine Champagne called Conover "the lovechild of Debbie Downer and the coolest, most contrarian college professor you ever had."

TruTV president Chris Linn stated in 2018 that the show is a "breakout hit" and that viewer sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. Reviews praised the show's ability to encourage critical thinking using comedy and facts. Educators have used the show in classrooms; a paper by Pennsylvania State University professors described how segments could teach economics concepts. The episode "Adam Ruins Going Green" drew criticism from The Verge's Sean O'Kane and Electrek's Fred Lambert regarding its representation of a Slate report on electric cars.

Conover and researcher Peter Miller responded, and the episode "Emily Ruins Adam Ruins Everything" functioned as a corrections episode, with Conover stating that if many people misread their argument, they should have explained it better.