Tom Green's House Tonight

Tom Green conceived the idea for the show in 2005, deciding that if it were technically feasible and economically viable, he’d be happiest doing his own nightly talk show from his living room.[7] Green went on to approach online television network ManiaTV! with the idea.[8] On June 5, 2006, ManiaTV! announced they had signed Green to host a live talk show from his own home and would give him complete creative control.[9] Green provided his desk, as used on The New Tom Green Show, and ManiaTV! provided the additional equipment.[8]

The first show aired live on June 15, 2006 at 11pm ET, and was originally called Tom Green Live!.[8] The show was initially only scheduled to air on Thursday nights,[9] but soon expanded to air Monday-Thursday.[10]

Early shows often included technical issues with the phone system, computers, streaming and audio.[7] Many viewers found Green's reactions to the technical problems to be entertaining as opposed to a hindrance to the show. Green's regular outbursts towards his off camera staff have become a running joke.[11]

While it is not the first Internet show, Tom Green's House Tonight may be the first Internet call-in talk show, and Green frequently cites this as an innovation. With little reliance on advertisement funding, his show is similar to Public-access television.[12] Green often refers to it by a word he coined: "Webovision",[13] and jokingly says he is broadcasting to "The National Internet",[14] despite the show having a worldwide audience, and joked that his show is "the highest rated, longest running, and only talk show on the Internet." Fellow comedian Joe Rogan named the show as an influence on his own podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Green has likewise been cited by numerous podcasters and other online content creators as a pioneer in the medium.

The show is not bound by FCC regulations, and therefore has very few content restrictions, such as a ban on swearing, nudity or drinking.[3] Green has stated: "I don't go out of my way to be shocking on the show. I'm really trying to take advantage of the looseness of the medium and the ability to be completely honest, real and in the moment like the way television was when it first started".[12] The show is not scripted or rehearsed; the emphasis in every broadcast is on the conversation between Green and his guests.[15] The relaxed and unrestricted nature of the show, along with the fact they are in Green's own home, often leads to a very natural and open style of interview rarely found on other talk shows.[12]

Tom Green with guests Thora Birch and Neil Hamburger at The Channel in 2006

Many notable guests have appeared on the show, including stars such as Pamela Anderson, Kat Von D, actors Val Kilmer, Brooke Shields, Crispin Glover and Thora Birch, hip-hop artists Flavor Flav and Xzibit, talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly, musicians Henry Rollins and Dave Navarro, pro wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, skateboarder Tony Hawk, as well as comedians Tim & Eric, Neil Hamburger, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Dice Clay.

Despite Green's serious talk-show demeanor, the show receives occasional prank calls, and Green often entices the callers during the resultant interactions. Green has decided not to use a call screener and has said: "There are nights when we’ve gotten like six prank phone calls in a row, but that becomes kind of funny, too. Whatever happens, happens".[16]

The show most recently aired live Monday to Friday at 10pm ET for one hour, occasionally going over the hour. At the present time, the show does not adhere to a set schedule. At any time of the day or night Green can spontaneously go on the air by literally flipping a switch on a remote control, which turns on all of the lights and cameras, hits record and sends out the feed to TomGreen.com.[16] Most shows can be viewed in the Videos section of TomGreen.com, and had also been made available for download via iTunes.[7] The total number of video views have reached up to 38 million downloads per month.[17]

Tom Green refers to his website as "The Channel".[7] The output of The Channel is not limited to Tom Green's House Tonight. Shows appearing on The Channel can vary significantly in length and can last for many hours.

Samsung was the show's first sponsor,[21] advertising the Samsung Upstage phone. Budweiser became the next sponsor.[7] Bud Light commercials were played before each show. Product placement was also used as bottles of Bud Light would be provided for Green and his guests during every show.[7] Bottles of the beer could also be seen in Green's fridge.

ManiaTV! was Green's original partner and funded the installion of his living room studio.[7] Green's split from ManiaTV! in August 2007 necessitated upgrades to the equipment and technology used to produce and stream the show. With the upgrades complete, Green launched the all-new TomGreen.com on September 27, 2007, with the help of producer Victor Borachuk. The new site showcases technology by far eclipsing what had been in place before, featuring full 16:9 live Flash video, and was streamed by BitGravity, which is a content delivery network.[22] BitGravity CEO Perry Wu has been interviewed on the show, denoting a strong partnership with the company. Since early 2011, the main video feed has been provided by Livestream. NewTek provide much of the video switching equipment.[23]

On March 11, 2009, a new membership service was launched to provide funding for The Channel.[24] Subscribers to the service receive access to the full video archive.[25] Green's intention is for viewer funding to allow him total creative freedom over The Channel by removing the need for financial support from TV networks and corporate sponsors.[26] However, Green has confirmed he is talking to possible business partners for his show. On February 10, 2010, additional features were added to the membership service, including forums, the ability to comment on videos, and priority when Skype calling into the show. In early 2011, the membership service was discontinued as Green took a hiatus from The Channel to focus on his stand-up comedy world tour.

• On June 15, 2006, Tom Green Live! made its debut broadcast.[8] Green's guest was the marionette Howdy Doody.[11] Green celebrated the completion of the first episode by diving fully clothed into his swimming pool.
• On August 31, 2006, Green, increasingly frustrated by technical issues with the phone system, destroyed the Pepper Pad supplied by ManiaTV! for handling viewer calls. ManiaTV! responded by cutting off the live feed during that night's debut episode of Poolside Chats with Neil Hamburger. Hamburger and his guest, musician Buzz Osborne, were unaware of the situation until being notified by viewers. Green later made an on-air apology for his actions.
• On October 10, 2006, the longest standard format show, in which Green interviewed Steve-O, ran for four hours and ended with Green drunk and Steve-O heavily intoxicated from a combination of hash brownies and nitrous oxide.[30] In addition to large amounts of alcohol, Green and his guest drank mustard and a bottle of salad dressing.[30] The show went off the air after Steve-O had vomited and both men had collapsed.[30]
• On October 25, 2006, Green's guests included pro skateboarder Jeremy Klein and Count Smokula. Klein became the first and only guest to be kicked off the show, after making insulting comments about a number of callers. He has since returned as a guest several times.
• In March 2007, Green celebrated having passed the milestone of 100 Tom Green Live! episodes with a special show broadcast from the Denver studio of ManiaTV!.[31] It was the first show to be broadcast from outside of Green's home.[31]
• On July 27, 2007, the highest rated show was broadcast, featuring Kat Von D as the guest.[17][32] The episode has reached 2.7 million views (as of June 2009).[17]
• On January 7, 2008, Tom Green's House Tonight made its television debut, featuring comedian Harland Williams as the guest.
• On March 23, 2009, the majority of the show consisted of Green launching an expletive-laden tirade in response to comments mocking the Canadian Military made on the Fox News talk show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.[33][34] Green had spent his early childhood living on a Canadian Armed Forces base where his father served as a captain.[35]
• On July 30, 2009, the longest live broadcast was shown during Green's 38th birthday party and lasted for over six hours.
• On May 20, 2010, the episode was guest hosted by comedian Norm Macdonald, allowing Tom Green to instead be interviewed as a guest on his own show for the first time.
• On October 3, 2013, Tom Green Live made its television debut on AXS TV, featuring comedian Richard Belzer as the guest.

• On November 26, 2007, the show won the TV Guide award for “Best Web Talk Show”.[29]
• On May 6, 2008, the show was announced as the winner of a Webby Award for "Best Variety Show" in the Online Film and Video category.[36]
• On September 23, 2009, the show was listed among the best shows on the internet by the Los Angeles Times publication, Brand X.[37]

• TomGreen.com - The Channel
• The Channel Guide Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Tom Green's House Tonight at IMDb
• Tom Green Live! (AXS TV) at IMDb
• Tom Green's House Tonight at The Comedy Network