Adam Ruins Everything airs Tuesday nights, 10pm on truTV.
2016 was the big election year here in the States, and with it came a surge of myths, rumors, and mistruths. Now in 2017, in the midst of endless investigations and allegations of “#fakenews” at an all-time high, it seems rather appropriate that Adam Ruins Everything is back for a second season of ruining all of the misconceptions that we think we know.
Unlike its fact-finding predecessors Penn & Teller’s Bullshit or MTV’s Big Urban Myth Show, Adam Ruins Everything doesn’t attempt to lecture you, but rather engage you in a conversation. (Well, in P&T’s case, it’s more of a lecture while insulting those with the opposing view.) Any time Adam cites a fact, an on-screen citation appears, prompting the viewer at home to pull up their computer or smart device to look up the source and see if the show interpreted the data correctly or if their source is reliable. Beyond that, at no point does Adam attempt to be anything other than a know-it-all comedian with a solid team of researchers. In fact, he states this numerous times throughout the show.
What helps with this open conversation feel is that the show integrates a solid narrative arc in each episode, and each season. We see how being the know-it-all negatively impacts Adam’s relationships with his family, friends, and the random strangers he latches himself onto. We see how Adam himself is also capable of falling for misconceptions, such as his love of the shady eye glasses industry. Most of all, though, we end each episode with some level of hope. Despite tearing down the institutions we blindly believe in and count on, every episode finds some hope for the future, and a suggestion as to how we can better our time on this planet.
TV and City 