Fitting: CNN Reportedly Considering Several Big Name Comedians to Host Prime Time Show
It’s no secret that CNN has lost their credibility on an epic scale.
Look no further than the fact that CNN has been seriously hemorrhaging viewers in recent years. It’s hard to blame those viewers for leaving when what was once a semi-reliable hard news operation has become more and more of an unreliable joke.
News that the network is said to be considering several big names in comedy to host a primetime program during the crucial 9 to 11 p.m. time slot appears to be the flailing network’s latest attempt to stop the bleeding.
The 9 p.m. spot has been “in flux” since the firing of primetime star Chris Cuomo in December 2021, according to The New York Times.
In an interview last month, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CNN Worldwide Chris Licht told the Times that the network’s programming is an “open canvas,” so his team is “throwing things against the wall, looking at off-the-beaten path opportunities.”
Five sources familiar with CNN’s plans told Semafor Media that comedians under consideration include Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Arsenio Hall, and Jon Stewart.
The idea to hire a comedian to host primetime programming likely came about for two reasons.
First, CNN is well aware of the tremendous success of Fox News’ late night show “Gutfeld!” which has dominated in the late night ratings wars.
A significant part of Greg Gutfeld’s appeal is his biting sense of humor and comedic chops.
The second reason might be that Licht, who joined the network last April, had spent the previous six years working as an executive producer for CBS program “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” When Licht began working for Colbert in 2016, the show was struggling. According to the Times, “Within a year, Mr. Colbert had seized the late-night ratings crown from Jimmy Fallon of NBC’s ‘Tonight Show.'”
So, clearly Licht was instrumental in turning Colbert’s show around and CNN is hoping he might repeat the magic at their network.
Semafor points out that Licht’s obvious comfort with “producing a non-traditional late night show with some news elements” was a factor in going this route.
One of Licht’s first acts was to pull the plug on CNN+, the network’s new streaming service. He is also behind the network’s shift away from the highly partisan coverage of the news they’d become known for.
Of the names under consideration by CNN executives, Bill Maher might be the most “realistic prospect,” according to Semafor. HBO’s popular news-talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” has begun its 20th season and is “already in-house at Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company.”
One of their sources told Semafor, “They’re looking for their version of John Oliver,” the host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.”
Another source told the outlet that “turning the 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. hours into a series of shows modeled like a variety program, with ‘shows within shows’ for different journalists,” is also under consideration by the network.
Upon hearing that Licht was considering adding a comedian to CNN’s primetime lineup, The Washington Post’s media critic Erik Wemple wrote: “Such an experiment could also deliver a programming disaster. Consider a scenario in which said entertainer was on air at the moment that an overseas war broke out, or an earthquake struck, or some statesperson died. Watching the network scramble to switch back into hard-news mode — well, that would surely be entertaining.”
Wemple continued, “Licht & Co. are struggling with the intractable problem of how to square the CNN brand’s promise — straight news — with the entertainment imperatives of nighttime television. They’ll continue struggling, too, because there’s no way to accommodate both.”
A lot will depend on whom they select to fill the space. Fox News has had overwhelming success with Greg Gutfeld, albeit in a later spot. But Gutfeld is a big part of the appeal of Fox’s popular 5 p.m. show, “The Five.”
Bill Maher, for example, has a relatively broader appeal. Although I disagree with a lot of his positions, I respect him for calling out liberals on their hypocrisy and on some of their more radical positions.
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