What are some shows with an arrogant but likable star?

August 12, 2006 7:35 PM

What are some podcasts/radio shows/TV shows by funny tough guys like Howard Stern?

I'm looking for media starring guys whose personalities are very likable even though they can be considered arrogant. In other words, someone who is funny and charismatic, but doesn't appear to be trying to please or entertain others as much as a comedian would; and who dominates conversations and talks a lot. Howard Stern, Keith Malley from Keith and the Girl, and Mike D. from Red Bar Radio are good examples I can think of. Can anyone think of others?

posted by lunchbox to media & arts (13 comments total)

Penn Jillett's podcast (of his radio show) is fantastic.
posted by necessitas at 7:39 PM on August 12, 2006

Ditto for Penn Jillette. His show fits your description perfectly.
posted by Robot Johnny at 7:48 PM on August 12, 2006

Are you looking for sitcoms? If so, there are a bunch featuring males that fit your description: Charlie Sheen in "Two and a Half Men", Neil Patrick Harris in "How I Met Your Mother", Jim Belushi in "The World According to Jim", etc. That type of character seems to be quite popular in sitcoms at the moment.

In radio, I think I would put Jim Rome on the list. If you like sports talk, his show is hard to beat--he's funny, he knows his stuff (and knows that he knows his stuff) but doesn't take shit from anybody and doesn't shy away from asking famous people hard questions or calling them out on their mess-ups. You can get podcasts of his shows on his website.
posted by jtfowl0 at 8:56 PM on August 12, 2006

Phil Hartman as Bill McNeal in NewsRadio.
posted by Danelope at 9:39 PM on August 12, 2006

Tom Scharpling (producer and writer for the TV Show, Monk), and his show/podcast, quite arrogantly called The Best Show on WFMU, fits the bill quite admirably.

People who might be familiar with his hilariously classic (at least in indie-rock underground circles) radio "hoax" broadcast on WFMU, Rock, Rot and Rule, would attest to both his arrogance AND his deep likeability.

His show *is* comedy based, in the sense that frequently, "fake" characters (mostly played by Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster, but also others like Jon Benjamin, Horatio Sanz and Matt Walsh) will call in to his show to talk about absurd things. But in between these calculated comedy bits, when he's taking calls from real listeners or venting about some topic which he wants to rant about, his "arrogance" shines. And yet, as fans we can't get enough of it--we "like" Tom as much as we can be irritated by him sometimes.

How could you not love a guy who picks an on-air fight with another podcast (Radio Zero the podcast by Rick and Rose from The Poster Children), unfairly reviews records by critic-dweeb favorites like Sufjan Stevens, John Zorn and Frank Zappa, and who liberally uses the term "Get off My Phone!" while claiming that it was radio legend Bob Grant who stole the phrase from him.

Phil Hendrie, by the way, has absolutely nothing on Tom Scharpling.
posted by melorama at 10:32 PM on August 12, 2006 [2 favorites has favorites]

This amateur Aussie guy is developing a bit of a following on YouTube. He basically just gives his opinions but can be quite entertaining if you are into funny arrogant, kind-of-intelligent pricks.
posted by vizsla at 1:05 AM on August 13, 2006

Opie & Anthony are often compared to Stern; many Howard fanatics even consider them "clones." Still, the shows are very different, although both feature hosts of the type you've described.

O&A is broadcast in many markets across the United States with an extended version on XM. You can listen online, too.

While the duo -- and "sidekick" Jim Norton -- often mock the homeless on their daily walk of 57th St. (considered arrogant), they have befriended a few, giving them what amounts to a daily allowance (very likable). Probably not the best example!
posted by brad! at 3:13 AM on August 13, 2006

Thanks for the great recommendations! These guys all seem like what I am looking for.

brad!: I wasn't able to download any Opie & Anthony. Do you know where I could get the files to download to my hard disk? (so i can transfer them to my mobile music player)

Keep 'em coming!
posted by lunchbox at 9:43 AM on August 13, 2006

lunchbox: The best place to download show audio is probably oavirus.com. It's not the best-looking, but there's a lot there. Check out the links under "O&A Audio" in the right column!
posted by brad! at 12:00 PM on August 13, 2006

The Adam Carolla Show
posted by event at 4:08 PM on August 13, 2006

Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney on the highly underrated (IMHO) sitcom How I Met Your Mother fits the bill I think.
posted by gregchttm at 6:50 AM on August 14, 2006

House.
posted by jeversol at 3:52 PM on August 14, 2006

Anthony Bourdain is a chef who's current gig is food-centric travel show No Reservations on the travel channel. He can be a bit arrogant sometimes (especially if vegetarians or Rachel Ray come up in conversation) but he's a cool guy.

He's also had a show, A Cook's Tour, on Food network, wrote the most excellent Kitchen Confidential & several other books, and he's done some good segments on NPR.

I first heard him on NPR talking about the restaurant biz, and thought he came off as something of an ass. He's now become one of my favorite people - favorite "celebrities" anyway.
posted by altcountryman at 11:55 AM on February 10, 2007