NY!MagazineHVulture! http://www.vulture.com/2013/07/meghanHmccainHonHgirlsHherHnewHtalkHshow.html! ! !
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Meghan!McCain’s!got!a!talk!show!launching!September!14!on!Pivot,!a!new!channel!targeted!at! "passionate!millennials."!(Pivot!will!also!be!home!to!Joseph!GordonHLevitt’s!HitRECord!show,!so! there’s!your!reason!to!care!)!Billed!as!a!docuHtalk!show,!Raising-McCain!will!follow!the!28HyearHold!on! the!road!as!she!and!various!coHhosts!(among!them!Wilson!Cruz!and!Ana!Kasparian)!talk!to!experts!and! everyday!people!about!topics!like!bullying!and!feminism!and!sex!and!the!death!of!romance.!Vulture!sat! down!with!McCain!following!Pivot’s!TCA!press!tour!session!Friday!to!talk!about!the!show,!why!she!still! identifies!with!the!Republican!party,!and!of!course,!the!Red!Wedding.!And!even!though!she’s!no!fan!of! Brooklyn,!it!turns!out!she!mostly!loves!Lena!Dunham.!
Hi!'How’s'it'going?' Good.!Where!do!you!work?![Notes-my-badge]!Vulture?!No!way,!I!fucking!love!Vulture.!I’m!not!kidding,!I! read!it!all!the!time.!Now!I’m!a!little!intimidated.! What?'Why?'What'do'you'read?' I!like!the!show!recaps.!The-Walking-Dead,-Game-of-Thrones.!I!like!the!Girls-recaps.!You!know,!I!have! issues!with!it,!I!think!some!of!it!is!inaccurate!HH!there!are!some!girls!who!live!in!Manhattan.!But!I!like!it,! I!do.!It’s!entertaining.!! Tell'me'about'your'show.'How'did'it'come'together?' I!had!this!idea!to!do!a!talk!show!that!was!in!the!world!instead!of!behind!a!desk!or!behind!a!podium!or! in!a!studio.!I!have!a!tendency!to!be!more!nervous,!less!authentic,!when!I’m!in!a!studio!structure!like! that.!I!was!working!at!MSNBC!at!the!time!and!I!had!this!crazy!idea!to!do!a!documentaryHstyle!talk!show! and!Pivot!was!into!it.!When!I!first!met!with!them,!I!was!so!impressed!with!their!message!and!obviously! a!new!network!is!a!gamble!but!I!just!so!believed!in!them!and!my!idea,!and!they!were!crazy!enough!to! buy!it.!! Had'you'been'shopping'it'to'other'networks?' Yeah,!I!had!been.!I!don’t!want!to!delve!into!too!much!of!the!details,!but!there!were!other!options.!But,!I! don’t!know,!I!loved!Pivot’s!message.!When!I!was!14!years!old,!I!met!Tabitha!Soren!who!worked!for! MTV!News!and!she!was!the!coolest!chick!I’d!ever!met.!She!was!the!first!person!I!ever!saw!that!looked! like!someone!I’d!want!to!hang!out!with!who!was!talking!about!politics.!That!doesn’t!sound!like!a!lot,! but!when!you’re!14!and!your!dad!is!running!for!president,!you’re!around!suits!all!the!time,!and!she! was!such!a!breath!of!fresh!air.!MTV!News!doesn’t!really!exist!anymore.!Technically,!it!might,!but!it’s! not!the!same.!So!yeah,!I!always!wanted!to!do!something!that!was!political!but!integrated!fun!and! popular!culture.!I!hope!my!show!does!that.!I’ve!had!the!best!fucking!time!making!it.!! Are'you'still'shooting?' We’ve!got!two!more!episodes!to!go,!and!we’ve!shot!eight.! Looking'at'the'lineup,'you’re'doing'episodes'about'privacy,'bullying,'feminism,'sex'...'It'doesn’t' seem'super'political.'Was'that'intentional?' Yeah,!I!mean!there’s!some.!Politics!is!obviously!in!my!life!naturally!in!every!way.!It!seeps!in!and!out.! But!I!wanted!to!talk!about!more!than!politics.!The!last!election!kind!of!killed!my!spirit.!I!was!done.!I! went!through!a!phase!when!I!was!very!disillusioned.!Politics!is!so!polarizing!and!so!partisan,!and!also! people!don’t!know!what!to!do!with!me!because!I’m!the!liberal!Republican.!I!got!to!a!place!where!I!was! like,!"I!don’t!want!to!do!this!with!my!life.!I!don’t!want!to!be!part!of!the!problem.!I!want!to!be!a!part!of! the!solution"!—!not!that!I!was!a!problem!working!at!those!places!but!I!didn’t!feel!like!I!was!making!the! kind!of!impact!that!I!wanted!to.!I!kind!of!had!a!bit!of!a!personal!existential!crisis.!I!was!like,!"What!do!I! want!my!life!to!look!like?!Do!I!want!to!be!a!conservative!pundit,!or!do!I!want!to!be!Tabitha!Soren! modernized?"!That’s!always!what!I!wanted!so!I!took!a!gamble!and!I’ve!never!been!happier.!I’ve!never! felt!more!like!myself!on!camera.!It’s!the!most!authentic!version!of!myself,!I!get!to!share!so!many! different!sides!of!myself!and!...!I!don’t!know.!I!don’t!have!to!wear!suits!and!I!can!wear!Converse! everyday.!! You'said'during'the'panel'that'you'get'to'"be'crazy"'on'this'show.'How'so?' When!I!was!working!at!MSNBC!it’s!in!talking!points.!MSNBC!is!fantastic!and!I’m!grateful!that!I!worked! there,!but!I’m!not!the!right!personality!for!there.!I!wanted!to!do!more!than!talking!points!and!short! segments!and!being!the!Republican.!I’m!very!gray.!There’s!a!lot!more!to!it!and!I!wanted!more!of!a! dialogue.!And!I!also!wanted!to!talk!about!things!other!than!politics![laughs].!!
Why'do'you'still'identify'as'a'Republican?' [Laughs]!Part!of!it!is!just!cultural!because!I’m!not!a!Democrat!at!all.!I!was!an!Independent!when!I!first! registered!at!18.!It’s!fiscal!and!it’s!national!defense,!honestly.!I!come!from!a!big!military!family,!I’ve!got! two!brothers!in!the!military.!And!there!are!tax!reasons.!But!the!Republican!party,!I!struggle!with!it.!I’ve! been!very!open!about!that.!I!just!don’t!know!what!I’m!going!to!do!with!the!next!election.!We!have!a! candidate!who!doesn’t!support!gay!marriage!and!I!don’t!know!why!it’s!so!hard!for!Republicans!to! come!around!on!this!issue.!It’s!so!important!to!me.!The!best!part!about!working!on!this!show!is!that!it’s! accepted!for!me!to!say,!“I’m!a!liberal!Republican.!It’s!very!gray.!My!ideas!are!still!evolving.”!That’s!not! something!that’s!very!accepted!in!cable!news.!! But,'at'least'judging'by'the'lineup'and'the'sizzle'reel,'Pivot'seems'like'a'very'liberal'network.' Was'that'a'discussion'between'you'and'the'executives?' Yes,!it!was!!It’s!so!funny,!when!I!originally!had!the!meeting!with![President!of!Pivot!Evan!Shapiro],!I! was!worried!it!was!going!to!be!a!liberal!network!like!Current.!What!I!know!of!Current!and!its!former! self,!I!would!never!work!there!—!although,!I!came!from!MSNBC!so!obviously!I’m!comfortable!working! at!a!liberal!place.!If!you!talk!to!Evan!he’s!very!impressive,!and!he!really!understands!that!this! generation!doesn’t!want!to!be!labeled.!I!was!sold!at!the!initial!meeting.!He!said!he!would!have!different! voices!and!lots!of!different!personalities!and!it!was!more!about!being!part!of!something!that’s!going!to! try!and!make!a!difference!and!bring!substance!to!young!people.! Right.'You'said'on'the'panel'that'there'needed'to'be'middle'ground'between'the'Kardashians' and'COSPAN.'What'about'series'like'The$Daily$Show'—'are'you'thinking'of'your'show'as'an' alternative'to'that?' I!love!The-Daily-Show-and!The-Colbert-Report,!I!mean,!who!doesn’t?!But!I!don’t!see!my!face!on!TV.'Fuck,! politics!aside,!I!just!mean!a!person!I!feel!I!could!hang!out!with.!I!don’t!really!see!that,!other!than! Anderson!Cooper’s!show,!which!is!now!canceled.!I!just!feel!like!there’s!more!there,!and!I!know!because! I!had!it!when!I!was!younger.!MTV!News!influenced!my!life!in!so!many!crazy!ways.!The!first!discussion!I! ever!had!about!AIDS!was!because!of!Pedro!on!The-Real-World.!! Where'is'the'show'based?' We!have!a!loft!space!in!New!York,!which!is!like!the!home!base.!We!call!it!The!Saloon.!There’s!alcohol!on! my!show.!We!go!and!we!meet!there,!and!that’s!where!we!do!the!morning!meetings,!which!are!filmed,! and!my!testimonials!straight!to!camera.!Then!we!go!out!in!New!York!and!do!interviews.!We!Skype.! We’ve!done!some!things!outdoors,!like!kickball.!I!friggin’!hung!from!a!trapeze!a!week!ago.!It!was!awful.! Wait!til!you!see.!I!can’t!wait!til!that!crap!hits!the!Internet.!Never!hang!from!a!trapeze.!I’m!not!scared!of! heights!and!it!was!horrible.!It’s!a!lot!more!complicated!than!people!realize.!I!hated!it.!So!there’s!stuff! like!that!we’re!doing,!too.!I!hope!you’re!getting!the!vibe!of!the!show,!it’s!hard!to!explain.! Will'your'dad'watch'this'show?' Oh!yeah,!totally.!I’m!going!to!send!him!episodes!as!soon!as!I!can.!! Who’s'the'show'for?' Hopefully!high!schoolers!and!college!students.!That’s!my!sweet!spot.!Those!are!the!people!who!come! up!to!me!in!airports.!I!hope!there!are!girls!out!there!especially!who’ll!see!that!you!don’t!have!to!have!it! all!figured!out!if!you!come!from!a!conservative!family!or!a!liberal!family!you!don’t!have!to!agree!with! your!parents.!It’s!okay.!You!can!be!crazy!and!still!be!smart.!That’s!the!other!thing:!I!feel!like!you’re!not! allowed!to!wear!makeup!and!dress!hot!and!go!out!with!dudes!and!be!smart!and!intellectual!and!talk! about!substantive!issues!at!the!same!time.!I!fuckin’!hate!that.!! I’m'being'wrapped'up'here,'so,'what'did'you'think'of'the'Red'Wedding?' It!was!traumatizing,!but!I!loved!it.!I!was!sad!that!the!mom!died.!!
Robb,'not'so'much.'I’m'with'you.' Well,!he!made!his!choice.!I!kind!of!saw!it!coming.!Our!sound!guy!was!like,!"Oh,!there’s!gonna!be!a!really! big!wedding,!just!wait!til!you!see!it."!Then!I!saw!it!and!I!was!like,!"Holy!shit."!I!love!Game-of-Thronesand!Walking-Dead.!I!don’t!get!starHstruck!hardly!ever!but!I!saw!Shane![played!by!actor!Jon!Bernthal]!at! the!White!House!Correspondents!dinner!and!I!was!like,!Oh-my-God.!I!didn’t!talk!to!him,!I!was!so! embarrassed.![Yells]!"Bring!back!Shane!!Bring!back!Shane!"!Make!him!come!back!to!life.!I!don’t!care!if! the!plot!is!ridiculous.!Michonne’s!my!favorite!though.!My!brother!was!like,!"How!can!Michonne!be!your! favorite?!She’s!not!evolved!enough!on!the!show."!And!I’m!like,!"No.!She’s!fucking!awesome!and!she’s!a! badass!with!a!sword.!The!end."! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !