Former ‘Daily Show’ regular Roy Wood Jr. will host CNN comedy program
Comedian and actor Roy Wood Jr. is joining CNN for its U.S. remake of the British panel show “Have I Got News for You.”
Wood, 45, will host the quiz show-style format as a forum for comics, pundits and media personalities to satirize the issues of the day. The 10-week series will run Saturdays at 9 p.m. Eastern starting Sept. 14.
Wood was a fixture on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” from 2015 to 2023. The son of a journalist, he delivered the comic monologue at the White House Correspondents Assn. dinner in 2023.
Hat Trick Productions, which makes the British version of “Have I Got News for You” will produce the CNN adaptation.
The division that has brought CNN ratings and an Oscar is bouncing back from slashed budgets. Its latest offering is a co-production with the BBC.
Wood was briefly a journalist when he worked at a radio station in Birmingham, Ala., while in college. He went into stand-up comedy and hosted a morning radio program.
Wood appeared on NBC’s reality series “Last Comic Standing” and was a regular on the TBS sitcom “Sullivan & Son” before joining “The Daily Show” as a correspondent in 2015.
CNN is turning to the format as it tries to create a viewing habit on Saturday night with topical comedy. The network recently added an encore airing of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” to the night. Both HBO and CNN are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Fox News, the leader in cable news ratings, is seeing success on the night with lighter fare. Comedian Jimmy Failla hosts “Fox News Saturday Night,” which is topping 1 million viewers some weeks.
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