10 Questions With VH1’s Carrie Keagan

This coming Monday at 10AM, one of the coolest shows on daytime television is returning. It’s not on CBS, NBC or ABC. It’s on cable TV and it’s on VH1. The show is called Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan. How do I know this? I have been on the show since its inception back in 2010 when it used to be a one week show promoting the Critics Choice Movie Awards, and its very creative producers, as well as its beautiful lead host, have infused daytime TV with the type of programming one usually watches late at night. It’s the best counter-programming to everything else at that time and the results are some of the more captivating TV you’ll see in daytime. I mean, even my mom who is 66, can’t stop watching it. It’s contagious, and dare I say – addictive TV.

I caught up this week with the show’s host Carrie Keagan to get a sense for what makes #VH1Buzz special, her “elevator ride” with Aerosmith, and the new addition that has everyone in the media industry abuzz!

Jack Rico: Welcome back Carrie to daytime TV! What have you been doing with yourself over the summer?

Carrie Keagan: The usual… marathoning Breaking Bad, working on new algorithms and vectors to improve the show, and chasing chickens to sharpen my agility and reflexes as a host. I also took some time to learn how to speak dolphin and catch up on new music.

JR: Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan (BMBLWCK) is back with you at the helm and for those viewers who will be tuning in for the very first time, how would you describe the show to them?

CK: Simply put, it’s like getting twerked on by the most delicious bottle of champagne while getting a crash course on pop-culture-palooza. Our show is very much an extension of how I live my life: in the moment and spontaneous. Good fun, great talk, delicious food, amazing music and a tasty adult beverage or two…all shared with great friends: our audience. I like to call it the “late late morning show” for the viagra-ecstasy generation.

JR: Usually when a show comes back, there are some new elements to boast about. What can the audiences expect beginning Sept 30th?

CK: This season it’s a brand new game. It’s really exciting. We’ve made the move into the beautiful Times Square Studios made famous by TRL. We have a new, very sexy, set overlooking Times Square. The setting is gonna look much, much bigger but, in many ways, the show itself will be more intimate. The music performance space is fantastic! We’ve always prided ourselves on showcasing some of the best music talent and now, we’re gonna blow the roof of the joint with huge artists and groundbreaking new artists. VH1 is a house that music built and all the kids are coming home!! If you could bottle all the magic coming up this season and sell it, everyone would be drunk and happy with unicorns and butterflies following them everywhere.

JR: This time around, there is a new program that will precede you called “The Gossip Table”. I understand you will be involved somehow. Explain the synergies between both shows.

CK: It’s really quite cool. To quote Michael Douglas, think of it as a two hander in the morning. Shane Farley, the amazing showrunner on Buzz, came up with a killer idea to take some of our friends who’ve appeared on Buzz and spinoff a show called “The Gossip Table.” They are some of the best gossip mavens in the biz and will be breaking news daily. Then we come on and tear it up and get your buzz really going. It’s a full morning of fun with our big crazy family. Between Rob Shuter, Chloe Melas, Marianne Garvey, Noah Levy, Delaina Dixon, Jim Shearer, Jason Dundas and myself, it’s nothing short of a boob tube bonanza. I think you’ll see plenty of back and forth between us. Think of the shows as two horny teenagers at the prom- we just can’t keep our hands off each other.

JR: Talk a little about what it means for you and the show to occupy the old TRL space. 

CK: It’s amazing! Spectacular! What a treat. So much history. I grew up watching TRL and to be standing in the same studio with our show is the most humbling and mind-blowing experience you could imagine. No words can really describe it. When the show started I felt like a little girl who’s dreams came true. Now it appears, that the dream also came with a fairy tale castle.

JR: There’s a lot of competition on TV at the 10AM hour, add to that, online programming, binge watching, social media, etc. There’s just so much competing for our attention that everyone has to bring their A game. How will you compete for those eyeballs?

CK: Two words: Indoor Fireworks!

JR: One of the most important aspects of the BMBLWCK are the guests. Have you had your dream guests on the show already, and if not, which guests would you get a tattoo on your forearm just to have on?

CK: We’ve been incredibly blessed when it comes to guests…our talent team is amazing and really works overtime and we have some incredible friends who drop in and support, but as far as a tattoo for a dream guest, I’d have to say Tom Hanks in a clown suit hugging Oprah. First, because it would be the most epic tattoo ever and, second, because I’d really like to see Tom and Oprah do that again!

JR: One can’t really move forward without appreciating the past. What were some of the best memories you had from last season? I still remember when Pitbull showed up for Thanksgiving on the show and flirted with you so hard that I thought my TV screen was going to blush.

CK: Too many to count….Sly Stallone dropping by blew my mind. The cream pie fight to end all cream pie fights on live TV. Jon Bon Jovi performing and then doing a live birthday greeting card for my brother… so cool. The boy band battle with all the members of NKOTB, Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees was crazy. Judd Apatow confirming that I am indeed the real “Tits McGee” from Anchorman! Playing grab-ass with all the dwarves from the hobbit. Recreating the opening scene from “Love in an Elevator” with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith. But the highlight of the year had to be my date with Kermit the Frog…but don’t tell Miss Piggy.

JR: You and I have discussed movies ad-nauseum on the show. As a fellow BFCA member and well known movie geek, have you seen any new movies you liked in the last few months?

CK: I’m a bit obsessed with BAD MILO! Watch that movie and tell me you’ve never seen a more adorable butt baby monster. I dare you!

JR: Finally, I’ve seen you on other shows while BMBLWCK has been on hiatus. Are you working on any other projects apart from the VH1 morning show?

CK: Well, I’m glad you asked. I’ve actually had a pretty busy summer. Much of my time has been spent developing a reboot of the classic action film “Gymkata.” Aside from my Monchhichi collection, the two things I am most passionate about are gymnastics and karate so this was a no brainer. I’ve also been developing a number of TV projects with my production company, No Good TV, which I’m super excited about, which we’ll be announcing them in the coming weeks, I’ve been working on the rollout of my new sparkling wine “Magnifico Giornata” and I’ve been working on a book.

Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan returns live Monday, September 30th at 10AM only VH1!