Interview: MTV's Andrew Schulz
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Andrew Schulz, a fast-talking comedian from NY, has catapulted himself to national notoriety through his role on MTV's "Guy Code". This past fall, Schulz took center stage as host of "The Hook Up", a new generation of dating show for a modern era of MTV viewers.
Holly Stein/MTV
Another recent addition to his MTV portfolio? "Guy Court", a comedic courtroom series, featuring real people who have fallen victim to violations of guy code.
It seems this comic-turned cable TV personality has found his niche: mouthing off about dating faux pas.
I had the opportunity to speak with Schulz earlier this fall to hear about his growing role with MTV and the launch of "The Hook Up". It was a unique chance to hear from the dark-eyed guy I'd previously known as a stand-up comic in New York City.
Check out what he had to say about his rise as MTV's blunt (and routinely crude) comedic voice on dating.
NT: "The Hook Up" is your second show on MTV/MTV2 in a short amount of time, are you trying to take over the world or what?
Yeah, basically, that's what I'm trying to do for real. Just straight take over this shit. One dating show at a time.
NT: Why do you like the dating show edge?
To be honest the dating show was brought up to me, MTV basically asked if I was interested. I don't know why they asked me, per say. I have a history with them because of "Guy Code", maybe they liked what I did on "Guy Code", maybe they liked that I was rude… maybe they wanted a guy host…
With MTV, I don't think they're as caught up in "this guy is huge, let's do a show with him", as caught up in cultures and who they find interesting. They love the subculture.
NT: So, it seems like "The Hook Up" is stylized or formatted somewhat like "Singled Out" and maybe that makes me sound really old, but I watched "Singled Out" back in the day on MTV, so…
Of course!
NT: It was a very popular show, so I'm curious, has that ever been referenced before or…?
Definitely. Yeah you know MTV has been known for dating shows. You remember "Next", right? So I mean, I remember growing up watching these dating shows. I mean, "Next" was hilarious to me just when the like the dude wouldn't even make it out of the bus and he got "next!". What I think this show is really similar to though is a really old dating show called "The Dating Game"…
NT: Yeah?
Yeah and in "The Dating Game" they couldn't see the person before you choose them. So the only difference in this show is instead of asking questions, I let them build themselves up in the first act- this guy is going to be a doctor and his best friend is his mom…
NT: Orphans, pets…
Exactly. And then in round two I go on their social media profile and I dig up all the dirt that I can find on this guy. Find out this guy dropped out of med school…he actually killed his mom…
NT: He's a total terrorist…
Exactly! And some people, they actually have hilarious stuff on the internet. And it's redeeming- like, oh this guy has a sense of humor. There's this one kid on the show- this always cracks me up- he made like porn out of gummy bears…
NT: OK that's terrifying.
Yeah it's terrifying, and hilarious. He has pictures of these gummy bears doing things, like this one girl is getting Eiffel Towered by the two gummy bears…
NT: Say what?
I swear, it's hilarious. And you know the girl thought it was really funny. She was like, 'oh this is funny this guy's just making gummy bear porn, I like this guy'… So that's the idea of the show, we're trying to show who somebody really is before you date them.
NT: Any last words you want to share for the USC community?
Honestly, I would be surprised if there weren't USC students on the show.
NT: And that's enough reason for me to watch every episode.
MTV's "The Hook Up" airs frequently on MTV and MTV2. Watch full episodes on MTV.com here. You can follow host Andrew Schulz on twitter here, and check out his upcoming live comedy sets here.
Check out the official trailer for "The Hook Up" here.
Reach Arts and Culture Ashley Riegle by email. Follow her on Twitter here.
