Loveline - History

History

Loveline began in 1983 as a Sunday night dating and relationships segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, hosted by DJ Jim "Poorman" Trenton, DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik), and Scott Mason. After a traumatic break up, Mason announced that he would no longer be hosting the show.

In 1984, Trenton added a segment called "Ask a Surgeon," hosted by his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky, who at the time, was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. The medical segment was pre-dated by an occasional legal segment in which a lawyer would be present to answer legal questions. As Loveline developed and increased its audience, Pinsky became a public figure in his own right, and the show began referring to him informally as "Dr. Drew". He eventually came to co-host the show with Trenton. In February 1992, the show expanded from Sunday nights to five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday. In August 1993 Trenton was replaced by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman.

Pinsky and Rachtman were joined by Adam Carolla in October 1995, as the show was first being syndicated nationally. The trio hosted together for several months, but Carolla and Rachtman often competed for airtime, leading Rachtman to resign in April 1996. Carolla and Pinsky would go on to host the show together until Carolla's departure in November 2005.

The popularity and reach of Loveline increased dramatically in the ten years during which it was hosted by Pinsky and Carolla. The two had a natural chemistry, in which Carolla's jocular tone emphasized Pinsky's reasoned expertise. Together, they refined the format of the show, and capitalized on their growing popularity with speaking tours, a television show on MTV channel (also titled Loveline), a book, and cameo appearances on television series and movies. In November 2005, Carolla left Loveline to prepare for a new morning radio show, The Adam Carolla Show, which began airing in January 2006.

After Carolla's departure, he was substituted on a temporary basis by numerous celebrity guests, some of whom announced their desire to take the job permanently. During his first appearance on Carolla's new morning show, Pinsky revealed that the shortlist of candidates included Carson Daly, Joel McHale, Danny Bonaduce, Steve-O, and Daniel Tosh. On July 23, 2006, KROQ-FM disc jockey Stryker was hired as Pinsky's co-host.

On April 22, 2009, Stryker announced that due to financial cutbacks at Westwood One, he would be leaving the show and it would be his last appearance that night. After Stryker's departure a number of celebrities guest co-hosted opposite Drew, On March 11, 2010, it was announced that Mike "Psycho Mike" Catherwood from The Kevin and Bean Show would co-host Loveline with Dr. Drew.

After a long stint as a guest host, Simone Bienne was formally brought on as a co-host in December 2011. This followed Westwood One's merger with Dial Global. She was introduced to the show by Dr. Drew through Lifechangers, and is the first female co-host of the radio show. As of 11/11 she is no longer a host.