The Rachel Maddow Show (TV)

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The Rachel Maddow Show is, unsurprisingly, a news show on MSNBC hosted by Rachel Maddow, formerly of Air America fame, airing on weekdays at 9PM EST. The show is, like many of its type, a blend of news stories and commentary, in this case with a self-admitted left-wing bias. Unlike her former peer, Keith Olbermann, and many other pundits out there, she is known for her calm demeanor and even-keeled manner, which has earned her a sizable Fandom. She is the first and only syndicated news commentator who is openly gay.

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Tropes used in The Rachel Maddow Show (TV) include:

• Achievements in Ignorance: Rachel deliberately avoided taking any advice on how to run her show. She currently averages around 1.1 million viewers nightly.
• Ascended Extra: A couple of regular guests on her show, Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris-Perry, have gotten their own shows on MSNBC. As noted elsewhere, Maddow herself was a regular on Keith Olbermann's show.
• Angrish: Rachel's priceless reaction to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's rebuttal to Barack Obama's 2009 State of the Union address:

"Um. Ehh...ummm. Uh buh buh... [...] I know I'm paid to talk for a living. I am incapable of doing what I'm paid to do right now. I'm absolutely stunned."

• Bottle Fairy: Okay, so maybe she's not an alcoholic, per se, but Rachel does have an appreciation for the art of mixing drinks, which she regularly has segments on.

"...the right to buy a beer is not enshrined in the constitution (because I haven't founded my own country yet)." January 2nd, 2012 episode.

• Brainy Brunette: She's a Stanford alum and a Rhodes Scholar with a PhD in politics from Oxford University.
• Breakout Character: Her guest-hosting for Keith Olbermann was so popular it netted Rachel her own show.
• Catch Phrase: "Big news tonight..." "Bullpuckey!" "THE BEST NEW THING IN THE WORLD TODAY"
• Deadpan Snarker: Not to the point of other liberal pundits like Jon Stewart or Keith Olbermann, but she does have her moments.
• Defeat Means Friendship/Vitriolic Best Buds: With former RNC chairman Michael Steele.
• Fox News Liberal: Cited a bill by Senator Olympia Snowe to try to prove conservatives flip-flopped on contraception mandates in Catholic charities. Which doesn't take into account that Olympia Snowe isn't exactly a paragon of conservative opinion and conservatives honestly don't care if Snowe supported a bill, as she is well to their left and has as much weight on rather they support a bill as Claire McCaskill.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Her perception of the Democrats.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Upon occasion, and she'll mix her own drinks.
• Invisible to Gaydar: In terms of personality, not appearance (given that she has a short hairstyle, and wears fairly masculine suits on-air). That said, she regularly covers LGBT issues and stories, usually giving them more attention than other media outlets do.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: With her short hair, traditionally masculine clothes and slim profile, she definitely qualifies.
• Lesbian Vampire: According to this guy, at least. Rachel herself appears to find this highly amusing.
• Lighter and Softer: Compared to her counterparts across the political spectrum, Rachel is (usually) very calm and collected, particularly compared to Cenk Uygur (he was far more vocal in his criticism than she can be). To anyone used to, say, Glenn Beck or Keith Olbermann, her tone will either be refreshing or downright disarming.
• Meganekko: Just see her put on her glasses
• No Pronunciation Guide: It's "mad doe", not "mad-oww". Also when Blackwater rebranded itself Xe Services, Maddow decided it should be pronounced "she".
  • The thing with Xe seems to be her assuming it was a Chinese word. "She" would be the correct pronunciation for Chinese.
  • She also once mispronounced the name of the Mackinac Group, a conservative think tank, as "Mac-in-ack" instead of "Macinaw," its proper pronunciation. She later corrected this on her show.
• "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: On occasion.
• Not So Different: Frequently invoked even by some on her own side, something she strongly resents, and probably has the strongest case against of all the MSNBC left-wingers.
• One of Us: She loves research and being through on most topics, this puts her firmly in geekdom territory. (She is also almost unnervingly aware of what is happening in the bowels of the Intarwebz, especially Tumblr, including featuring the "Texts From Hillary" meme as one of her "Best New Thing..." segments.)
• Punny Name: Many of the titles of the segments on her show. A regular example is "Ms. Information," devoted to covering what Maddow describes as "Holy Mackerel stories" in the news. Also, "Rachel: Re".
• Platonic Life Partners She and NBC's Chief Foreign Correspondant Richard Engel.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Maddow is the Blue Oni to the hot-blooded personalities who've aired before her, first Keith Olbermann then Ed Schultz.
• Running Gag: She often pretends to fall asleep in the middle of saying Tim Pawlenty's name.
• Sarcasm Mode: A common tool for her to show her anger (or amusement) over a topic, which is sometimes the only way to tell she's angry about something.
• Shown Their Work: She makes sure she can back up all her facts, and when she does make a mistake, she will correct herself promptly.
• Special Guest: Kent Jones, a recurring guest, who carried over from her Air America show.
• Unusual Euphemism: "Shtupping."
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Rachel tries to explain everything carefully, but her show's format tends to assume a somewhat higher degree of intelligence. At least, compared to the flashy graphics of other shows.