"D.L. is a very thoughtful, well-informed guy with unpredictable views, and I’ve always admired his comedy," said CNN/U.S. prexy Jon Klein. "The basic premise of the show is, what if a guy like him was let loose in the CNN building for a weekend after the lights went off?"
Klein said CNN could not release the name of the show yet. Veteran producer Mitch Semel will be the exec producer and showrunner.
While Comedy Central has two dominant players in the news-laffer genre — "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" — Klein said the new CNN skein will be different. "Daily" and "Colbert" are "fake newscasts, whereas this is really D.L.’s observations and comments on the week’s events and his riffs on the news," Klein said.
"I’m a big fan of both of those shows," Hughley said, "but I’ve got a different skill set. I’m not going to parody a news show or a news anchor. My show will reflect my views on things just as their shows reflect their views."
The Hughley show will tape before a live audience on one of CNN’s news sets in New York. Asked about the format, Hughley said, "We’re going to have to find our way." But the general idea is to have fun with the news, either in commenting on it or, more often, by talking to people who are making it.
To that end, CNN’s global newsgathering operations will be key. "He’s got access to the full treasure trove of resources," Klein said. "We expect he’ll run amok a little."
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