After a five month hiatus, Chris Wallace is ready to ask more questions.
The CNN anchor, whose streaming show was pulled when the channel shuttered the short-lived CNN+ service, will return on a much larger streaming platform later this month: HBO Max.
CNN says that the new season of Wallace’s interview show, Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, will debut its first 3 episodes on HBO Max September 23. The best moments from those 3 episodes will then be turned into a one-hour TV show that will air on CNN Sunday, Sept. 25.
That format will continue throughout the 10-week first season, with three full-length interviews dropping on HBO Max on Fridays, and Wallace hosting a best-of show on Sunday evenings at 7 PM. Among the interviews lined up are actor-director Tyler Perry, Musician Shania Twain, author James Patterson, and baseball star turned businessman and broadcaster Alex Rodriguez, with others to follow. His CNN+ show counted former Disney CEO Bob Iger and White House press secretary Jen Psaki among the interviewees.
The new show will likely see a far wider audience than Wallace’s CNN+ show, with that news streaming service having a subscriber count in the thousands and no linear option. HBO Max and HBO had about 77 million subscribers as of May 1, while the CNN linear channel will make the show available in another 80 or so million homes.
CNN describes it as a “first-of-its kind partnership between the two storied brands” that “moves beyond the traditional boundaries of streaming and cable.”
“Chris Wallace is a legend in our profession. His unparalleled interviewing expertise has made an impact across industries and changed history,” said Chris Licht, CNN’s Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “And now with the launch of his program on both HBO Max and CNN, his iconic interview style will reach an expansive audience unlike anything before.”
Wallace, the former anchor of Fox News Sunday, left the channel at the end of last year to join CNN+, which was a top priority for its then-president Jeff Zucker. However, new leadership in Licht and new ownership in Warner Bros. Discovery opted to nix the subscription streaming effort. Licht announced in May that Wallace would return to CNN on Sundays, positioning the interview show as a centerpiece of what will be a new Sunday lineup.
Source: Hollywood
