Turns out CNN won’t replace the timeslot formerly occupied by Piers Morgan with another host, but with a rotating cast of reality personalities.
Its new prime-time schedule announced Thursday calls for the news network’s 9 p.m. hour to be filled with unscripted shows like “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” and “Morgan Spurlock Inside Man,” plus new personality-fronted original series with Mike Rowe (“Dirty Jobs”), Lisa Ling and John Walsh “(America’s Most Wanted”). Docu-series “The Jesus Code,” “The Sixties” and “Chicagoland” will also occupy the 9 p.m. real estate, along with a weekly in-house documentary (like “Weed”) and a library of CNN Films.
The new lineup debuts this summer, with “Erin Burnett Outfront” and “Anderson Cooper 360” remaining at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively, while 10 p.m. will house a new one-hour news program “CNN Tonight” hosted by a rotating cast of anchors.
Rowe will host “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” where he profiles unique individuals — innovators, entrepreneurs, collectors — about their passion, purpose and hobbies that sometimes get out of hand. “The Hunt with John Walsh” will tell stories of ongoing international criminal investigations to help the public apprehend the fugitive at large. And Ling’s new documentary series will travel to America’s sub-cultures that are unusual, bizarre and sometimes dangerous.