CNN is reportedly considering hiring a comedian to host one of its struggling prime time hours – the latest in a series of sweeping changes to the network under new CEO Chris Licht.
According to people familiar with the matter, the not-yet-named funnyman or woman would be tasked with filling the hallowed 9pm time slot, previously held by Chris Cuomo.
Brass at the famously progressive news network have reportedly floated names such as Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Arsenio Hall, and Jon Stewart, as candidates, to offer a nontraditional, late-night-esque take on the day’s news. Fox News has found success with Gutfeld!, the late-night comedy show hosted by Greg Gutfeld.
The rumored maneuver comes as the late-night sphere has been through a great deal of changes recently – and as CNN execs, led by Licht, have largely failed to fill the space left by Cuomo, who lost the gig more than a year ago after trying to help his brother Andrew Cuomo fight off a sexual harassment scandal.
The maneuver comes as somewhat disjointed from Licht’s previously aired plans for the network since taking the helm early last year, which included it moving away from opinionated reporting that became especially prevalent during Trump’s administration.
That said, the showrunner, who previously headed Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, hinted at a desire to sign Stewart in an interview last year with the New York Times.
Currently under contract with Apple, the 60-year-old satirist seems like an unlikely option – though the stellar ratings he brought The Daily Show for 16 years has likely piqued Late Night expert Licht’s interests – especially when compared to ratings spawned by his successor Trevor Noah, and other more polarizing talking heads such as Colbert and former Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee.
Speaking to The Times, Licht – who laid off hundreds of staffers last month including politics reporter Chris Cillizza – said he would love to bring on the former late night host, if possible.
Another, more promising prospect is Maher, a more no-nonsense progressive who despite his politics, manages to appeal to wider demographic than his more polarizing counterparts.
Maher, 66, currently hosts his long-running, eponymous program on HBO, which, like CNN, is now presided over by parent company Warner Bros.
Earlier this week, Puck reported that CNN brass were already in talks to begin airing some of Maher’s weekly extra HBO segments on some of the station’s various media outlets.
Already familiar with using satire to improve viewership, Licht was brought on last February with the tall task of raising diminished viewership on the network.
That said, ratings slumps in late night have been widespread – and many have attributed it to liberal talking points exhibited by hosts while on the air.
Offenders include Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and James Corden – all vehement progressives who have seen ratings fall drastically in recent years, with nearly all at some point accused of being vehicles for the liberal mass media.
The rapidly shifting late night landscape, moreover, has made the success currently enjoyed by more conservative talkers – such as Greg Gutfeld – all the more stark.
The Fox Show last year drew a ratings average of 2.15M viewers – well over what liberal rivals Fallon, Corden, Colbert, and Noah, have drummed up in recent months.
