Have I Got News For You, CNN’s highly-anticipated new comedy program, has found its host in The Daily Show veteran Roy Wood Jr.
On Thursday afternoon, CNN announced Wood as host of the series, which is an adaptation of the BBC comedy panel show that has been on the air since 1990.
“For far too long immigrants have been coming to America and taking Black jobs,” Wood joked in a statement about the new gig, referencing former President Donald Trump’s recent comments on the campaign trail. “Kudos to CNN and the immigrants at Hat Trick Productions for bringing a Black job to the States.”
“It is an honor to be a part of such a hallowed British institution,” he added, “to help make sense of the American institutions of chaos, name calling, disinformation, reality television, and the 8-hour news cycle.”
CNN has set a September 14 premiere date for the show, which is currently planned as a 10-episode limited series.
Hat Trick Productions, the company behind the original BBC series, will produce for the news network’s CNN Originals banner. CNN greenlit the adaptation in May, continuing the network’s push into the late-night-inspired comedy space. In March, CNN announced it would start re-airing episodes of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturday nights in primetime.
Wood was a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2015 through 2023; he left amid the show’s ongoing search for a permanent host. The comedian has expressed possible interest in returning to the program if he were offered the permanent hosting gig, but he’s kept plenty busy with other projects since his departure.
Wood was cast in Jonah Hill’s new movie Outcome, sold a memoir, cameoed on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, hosted the baseball history podcast Road to Rickwood, and is filming a new standup special for Hulu next month.
Have I Got News For You will air Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN. Episodes will also be available to stream on Max the next day.
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