OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Chris Wallace Left Fox News and joined CNN earlier this year in hopes of hosting a primetime show on the network. But things didn’t work out that way. First, Wallace’s show aired on the now-defunct CNN+ streaming service.
Then, Wallace’s show was kicked over to HBO Max after CNN had to shut down its streaming service after spending roughly $300 million on the failed project. After being passed over for a primetime hosting gig, new CNN CEO Chris Licht says Wallace’s show will remain on HBO Max but will also air on CNN one night a week.
“Licht announced back in May at the company upfront that Wallace’s interview streaming program on CNN+ named Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? will stream on HBO Max—and air on the CNN TV network weekly on Sunday evenings; but he did not disclose a timeslot. Until now,” Ad Week reported.
“A big part of the CNN brand is respectful, authentic and impactful interviews—and one of the best interviewers in the business is Chris Wallace, who is here with us this morning,” Licht remarked at the time. “We’re excited to announce that Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? will return to production this fall, with episodes on HBO Max and on our CNN linear channel on Sunday evenings. Chris’s show will be part of what we’re calling ‘CNN Sunday.’ It’s a unique opportunity for your brands to appear alongside our premium content.”
Last week, Wallace joked about his show on CNN being “on-again” and “off-again,” quite a few times in recent months.
Wallace joked with celebrity chef Guy Fieri about the demise of CNN+, telling his guest to take care on the set of his one and only show because “I almost lost it a few months ago.”
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
WALLACE: “Would it be fair to say, Guy — “
FIERI: “They’re so mad at me when that happens.
WALLACE: “What, when the — “
FIERI: “The exploding potato. We call it hot potato. That’s the name of the game.”
WALLACE: “Okay. Would it be fair to say that drinks were served during the course of producing of that show?”
FIERI: “Can you tell by looking at me?”
WALLACE: “Them.”
FIERI: “Oh, no, them. Yes, not me. There were a couple beverages. I feel that when you’re talking about food and you’re having your party inside of the Flavor Town Lounge, you should probably make sure that there is some really good Santo tequila being poured. And yes, there were some beverages.”
WALLACE: “I was going to say, do you realize how much better my career and political talk shows would have been if beverages — even on a Sunday morning — if beverages had been served?”
FIERI: “Exactly.
WALLACE: “How many series do you have on the Food Network and Discovery+ now?”
FIERI: “I think I have five shows. ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,’ which is kind of the — I think we’ll be doing that one forever, I’ll be doing that in a walker; ‘Guy’s Grocery Games,’ which we shoot up in the wine country, Northern California; ‘Guy’s Ranch Kitchen,’ that we shoot at my ranch, that features chefs from all over the country.”
WATCH:
CNN has been in shambles for months after new owners took over the network.
Reports surfaced last week that CNN may be preparing to part ways with one of the most controversial hosts on the network.
A new report from former Mediaite managing editor Jim Nicosia said that the network has decided he no longer fits with the new direction of the company.
“SCOOP: Another “big name” about to exit @CNN. (Stay tuned),” he said at the start of the week.
“Discovery Executive: ‘He does not have a place in the new CNN. He reminds us of the Zucker period we are looking to move far from. The only reason he is still on air was not to look like we were ‘cleaning house’ for political reasons right after the closing,’” he said. “I agreed not to report the name until the end of the week.”
Discovery Executive: "He does not have a place in the new CNN. He reminds us of the Zucker period we are looking to move far from. The only reason he is still on air was not to look like we were 'cleaning house' for political reasons right after the closing"
— Jon Nicosia 👻 (@NewsPolitics) October 11, 2022
On Friday, he gave the name of the person as Acosta.
“The person this Discovery exec was talking about is Jim Acosta. CNN (like they did when I reported about Stelter being let go) will be to defend the person. That’s what network PR people do. Keep in mind many of the recent people let go had big support within the network but did not fit into the ‘middle ground’ vision CNN is being pushed into.
“Since Acosta was the main Trump lightning rod between the ‘old’ CNN and the new owners future vision he will either go quick, or with a lot of internal pushback. Stay tuned,” he said.
The person this Discovery exec was talking about is Jim Acosta. CNN (like they did when I reported about Stelter being let go) will be to defend the person. That’s what network PR people do. Keep in mind many of the recent people let go had big support within the network /more
— Jon Nicosia 👻 (@NewsPolitics) October 14, 2022
“One important thing that this executive wanted to stress is they are nowhere near done, and Acosta won’t be the last of the ‘old guard’ to go, but this ‘takes time’ and ‘they’re getting an incredible amount of internal push back from people who want to stay a resistance network,’” he said.
One important thing that this executive wanted to stress is they are nowhere near done, and Acosta won’t be the last of the “old guard” to go, but this “takes time” and “they’re getting an incredible amount of internal push back from people who want to stay a resistance network”
— Jon Nicosia 👻 (@NewsPolitics) October 14, 2022
