Marc Maron has had enough.
The comedian announced Monday that he’s ending his popular podcast, “WTF,” which he’s been doing twice a week for nearly 16 years.
“We’re tired,” Maron said in the intro of Monday’s episode, speaking on behalf of himself and longtime producer Brendan McDonald. “We’re burned out.”
Maron, a Boston University grad who began his stand-up career in the late ‘80s with a 10-minute guest spot at Nick’s Comedy Stop, started the podcast when his comedy career was flagging.
“This was a show that started when there were no podcasts, and now there are nothing but podcasts,” Maron said, characterizing the show as a “hail Mary pass” to find an audience.
“My life changed dramatically,” he said.
It didn’t happen overnight, but “WTF,” which Maron initially recorded in his cluttered garage, grew a large and devoted following that tuned in every Monday and Thursday to hear hourlong conversations with comics, actors, authors, musicians, and, ultimately, even a US president. (Barack Obama sat down with Maron in 2015.)
“This podcast has been my connection to you people,” Maron said Monday. “It’s been my connection, socially, to people in my business — people I never thought I’d meet — creative people, interesting people. It’s a very big part of my spiritual, social, and psychological life.”
In the course of 1,600 episodes, Maron sat down with countless notable guests, including Robin Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Mavis Staples, Greta Gerwig, Anthony Bourdain, Jessica Lange, Al Pacino, Albert Brooks, Keith Richards, Maria Bamford, Cillian Murphy, John Mulaney, Ice Cube, Kelly Reichardt, Bob Newhart, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quinta Brunson, Sarah Polley, and Andrew Garfield, to name just a few.
Along the way, the show helped resuscitate Maron’s comedy career, leading to several well-received stand-up specials as well as acting jobs in television (Netflix’s “GLOW” and “Stick,” which debuts this week on AppleTV+) and movies (“Joker” and “To Leslie.”)
But, Maron said, it’s time to end the podcast.
“The thing about burnout, about being tired … is that we are very focused and very particular and very hard-working in this endeavor,” Maron said. “The quality of the work we’ve done every [expletive] episode is its own greatness.
“It’s OK to end things,” he said. “It’s OK to try to start some other chapter in your life.”
Maron said “WTF” will continue through the summer and then he’ll sign off for the final time in September.
“Don’t get all bummed out. … The world is on fire,” he said. “We’ll find a little joy. We’ll find a little solace in each other’s company. We’ll learn some things, we’ll get some laughs, we’ll cry a little bit, and we’ll move on.”
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