With two weeks to spare, CNN has locked down its plans for this year’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen countdown special.
Officially kicking off Wednesday, December 31, at 8 p.m. ET, CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live will as usual originate from Times Square, and feature guests such as Late Show host Stephen Colbert, SNL‘s irrepressible Sarah Sherman, Leanne Morgan, marrieds Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, B.J. Novak, Amy Sedaris, and mentalist Oz Perlman.
You can also expect musical performances by Robyn (from Times Square), Shakira (from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.), Brandy and Monica (from The Black Promoters Collective/The Boy Is Mine Tour), Bryan Adams (from Madison Square Garden), Florence + The Machine, and RAYE.
Brandi Carlile, Aloe Blacc, Patti LaBelle, and Michelle Williams are also slated to appear.
Throughout the night, CNN reporters will provide live coverage of celebrations across the country, including Randi Kaye in New Orleans; Stephanie Elam in Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas:, Isabel Rosales in Greater Lauderdale, Fla.; and Harry Enten in Prescott, Ariz.
At 12:30 am ET, CNN’s Sara Sidner and Cari Champion will take the wheel from Cooper and Cohen, as the Central Time Zone rings in 2026 from Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas, with performances by country singer Vince Gill and The Head and The Heart (and, why not, interviews with Flavor Flav and Ariana Madix).
For the first time, CNN’s New Year’s Eve programming will also stream on CNN’s new subscription platform (available at CNN.com/AllAccess), and on CNN’s mobile app and connected apps on smart TVs. Pay TV subscribers can access the stream by logging in with their Pay TV credentials.
Rival programming on tap for this December 31 include Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026 (on ABC), New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash (CBS), and A Toast to 2025! (NBC).
