Total Request was the MTV music-video program hosted by Carson Daly before becoming Total Request Live.
Total Request began as a weekday countdown program in 1998. It later merged with MTV Live, producing the title Total Request Live, commonly abbreviated as TRL. Carson Daly became the program’s best-known presenter and helped make its Times Square broadcasts a major part of late-1990s pop culture.
The show combined viewer requests, chart rankings, celebrity interviews, and live performances. Its studio window overlooking Times Square became an iconic location where fans gathered to see performers and appear on television.
The name is sometimes remembered only as TRL, but the original title was Total Request. Total Request Live was the expanded format created after the merger with MTV Live, not the initial title of the countdown.