EXCLUSIVE: Amber Ruffin (The Amber Ruffin Show) and Michael Ian Black (Wet Hot American Summer) are set for the team captain roles on Have I Got News For You, CNN‘s forthcoming American adaptation of the long-running BBC comedy panel series.
A British institution produced by Hat Trick Productions since 1990, Have I Got News for You will be hosted in the States by The Daily Show alum Roy Wood Jr., as we were first to report. The series will deliver comic observations, from the satirical to the surreal, through the lens of a news quiz show, serving up a smart and edgy take on the news of the week.
Together with Wood, Ruffin and Black will guide a rotating collection of guests including notable entertainers, political figures and comedians through an array of comic games and quick-witted panel conversations that test their knowledge of current events.
Produced by Hat Trick Productions for CNN Originals, the ten-episode limited series will premiere on CNN on Saturday, September 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The show will regularly air Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available to stream on Max the following day. Exec producers for the American version of Have I Got News For You are Jimmy Mulville, Richard Wilson and Jim Biederman.
“It is an honor to get to work with comedy favorites Michael Ian Black and Roy Wood Jr,” said Ruffin in a statement to Deadline. “It is our hope that this show will take people from saying, “This is CNN.” to “THIS is CNN!?!?””
Stated Black, “I’m thrilled to be joining Roy Wood Jr. and Amber Ruffin as Have I Got News For You‘s DEI hire. I’m looking forward to spreading as much disinformation as possible on America’s most trusted news network – my main focus has been, and will continue to be, pleasing my handlers in the Kremlin.”
“Smart and entertaining programming has long been the guiding principle for CNN Originals and this dynamic trio of Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black is just that and more,” added Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals, and creative development for CNN Worldwide. “We are betting audiences will welcome the opportunity to laugh and find humor in this year of the unrelenting news cycle.”
An Emmy- and Tony-nominated comedian, writer and actress, Ruffin is best known for hosting and exec producing the late-night talk show The Amber Ruffin Show, which ran for three seasons on Peacock. A longtime writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, who made history there as the first Black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the United States, she’s also written for The Tony Awards, HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, the Golden Globe Awards, Comedy Central’s Detroiters, and more. She received a Tony nomination for her writing on a Broadway adaptation of Some Like It Hot and has also been seen on series like Girls5eva, Last Week Tonight wih John Oliver, Drunk History and Detroiters, among others.
An acclaimed actor, writer and comedian who began his career with the famed sketch comedy troupe The State, Black went on to co-create TV series including Viva Variety, Stella, and Michael & Michael Have Issues. He’s also known for his onscreen work in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, along with such films as This Is 40, They Came Together, Wanderlust and The Baxter. Additional TV credits for Black include Inside Amy Schumer, Reno 911!, Another Period and The Jim Gaffigan Show, to name just a few. As a writer, feature credits for him include Wedding Daze and Run, Fat Boy, Run.
Ruffin is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Black by Artists First.
The post Amber Ruffin & Michael Ian Black Join CNN’s ‘Have I Got News For You’ As Team Captains appeared first on Deadline.
