Chris Licht: Celebs Rumors

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN+ is gone, but some of the big-name anchors who were hired for the service appear to be sticking around for a while.Chris Licht, the new chairman and CEO at the Warner Bros. Discovery news operation, gave indications at a town hall meeting on Thursday that he intended to find places for some of the popular names that were lured to the company with the promise of new programs for CNN.+ The subscription-based streaming service was scuttled abruptly by the company’s new parent after it completed its acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T.

The White House Correspondents Dinner has finally returned to the art of the presidential schtick after being off for several years.

The brand new streaming service CNN+ is already being shut down.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAs Discovery and WarnerMedia leaders go full throttle on final merger preparation for the anticipated April 8 closing date, the industry is eager to learn how Warner Bros., HBO and the former Turner cable networks will exist alongside Discovery’s large portfolio of global channels and content operations.The formal tying-of-the-knot can’t come soon enough for executives, staff, creatives and talent at both companies, who also are still largely in the dark about potential structural changes, management shifts and strategic pivots.On Tuesday morning, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced that he would be stepping down ahead of the merger. Besides that, there’s a rudimentary “initial wordmark” logo for Warner Bros.

The long awaited, heavily promoted CNN+ debuts on Tuesday, with a lineup of live and on-demand programming and, in the media world, a dose of doubts.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery investors voted in approval of the company’s $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T to create Warner Bros. Discovery during a special meeting of stockholders Friday, marking one of the final formal steps before the transaction can close.The deal, a spinoff of WarnerMedia from AT&T, is expected to be completed early in Q2, with insiders telling Variety the estimated date is between April 11-28. The merger has already received approval from the U.S.

For the past seven years, Chris Licht’s favorite comic has been Stephen Colbert. As the new chairman of CNN, Licht’s focus has instantly shifted to the brilliant ex-comic from Ukraine named Volodymyr Zelensky, whose heroics are the story of the hour.

CNN’s new subscription streaming service will be priced at $5.99 per month, with a special offer for early subscribers to get 50% off, according to the network.

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert was sure that Chris Licht was the right person for the job of showrunner of his CBS late-night show when the pair met over a drink six years ago.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIf it wasn’t for Chris Licht, you might not see Gayle King on TV every weekday morning.King wasn’t the typical host of a national morning-news show. She had worked for nearly two decades at a Hartford TV station before trying her hand at daytime TV.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe showrunner is leaving, but the show must go on.Staffers at CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” aren’t sure who the next top producer will be at the program, according to three people familiar with the matter, with top producers ready to take their time to examine the needs of the show after the departure of Chris Licht, who has been executive producer of the late-night mainstay since 2016. Licht’s decision to take a new role as the CEO of CNN once Discovery closes its acquisition of WarnerMedia leaked this weekend, well before the executive was able to formally inform George Cheeks, CEO of Paramount Global’s CBS operations, or Shari Redstone, chairman of the company, according to one of these people.

Discovery made the official announcement on Monday that Chris Licht, currently executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will lead CNN after the completion of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN will have a new chief for a new chapter.Chris Licht, a veteran producer who has overseen programs like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was named chairman and chief executive of CNN Global — a new name for the news operation once its parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery. Licht will report directly to David Zaslav, who will be CEO of the combined company.Discovery is expected to take control of WarnerMedia sometime in mid-April, depending on a shareholder vote, among other conditions.The prospect of a new owner and a new top executive has spurred speculation about what new programming and operating direction may be in store for the venerable cable-news outlet, which has been under scrutiny since WarnerMedia ousted former president Jeff Zucker after he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer.

Chris Licht, the executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert who also launched Morning Joe on MSNBC, is poised to take over the reins of CNN after the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger closes, a source confirmed.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Licht, the wunderkind producer who launched “Morning Joe,” retooled “CBS This Morning” and helped late night host Stephen Colbert gain traction on CBS, is jumping to CNN to take over the operation once its corporate parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery in a much-anticipated merger expected to take place in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.Licht could not be reached for immediate comment and a CNN spokesperson referred an inquiry to Discovery. A Discovery executive declined to comment.

Stephen Colbert will be offering his live take on the news on the night of the State of the Union.

EXCLUSIVE: Comedy Central is launching the first new original series under ViacomCBS network’s current push in adult animation. Fairview, executive produced by Stephen Colbert and the team behind Paramount+’s Emmy-nominated Tooning Out the News and Showtime’s Our Cartoon President, will debut Feb. 9 at 8:30 pm, following South Park. 

If 2020 was the year of the late-night bathtub and garage specials, the last twelve months saw somewhat of a return to normal for the entertainers making linear viewers laugh on a nightly basis.

Stephen Colbert has tapped his former publicist Carrie Byalick as boss of his fledgling production company.

Stephen Colbert is staying in business with CBS Studios.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorStephen Colbert’s Spartina Productions banner has set a three-year first-look deal to develop television and streaming content for CBS Studios.Colbert, host of CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” is a principal in the company along side Evelyn McGee Colbert, who is married to Stephen Colbert. Also joining them as principals are “Late Show” executive producers Chris Licht and Tom Purcell.The pact comes as the portfolio of TV programs produced in recent months Colbert’s umbrella has grown to a half-dozen, including “The Late Show” itself.Colbert’s team produces the animated “Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News” for Paramount Plus, as well as “Fairview” and “Washingtonia” Comedy Central.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIf you didn’t watch last night’s “Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” you’ll still be able to listen to it.The CBS late-night program will launch on Monday a “showcast” that will be called “The Late Show Pod Show With Stephen Colbert,” essentially an “audio lift” of the linear program.

Stephen Colbert bounded on to the stage of The Late Show on September 7 with a new look. The comedian was rocking a new moustache as well as a rejuvenated energy.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe tales are starting to be told. Every topical daily television show produced during the height of the coronavirus clampdown has emerged with stories of on-air experimentation, on-the-fly innovations, near misses and Hail Marys that rival the TV pioneer legends of Caesar, Berle, Gleason and Ball, et al.CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is no exception.

Expect more mocking news coverage as animated series Tooning Out The News has been renewed for a second season.

Late-night will undoubtedly be a bit different under a Joe Biden Presidency and Stephen Colbert has started to think what that might envision.

Also Read: Colbert Remixes Taylor Swift's 'You Belong With Me' Music Video Into Her Joe Biden Endorsement (Video)“It’s going to be a great night although my therapist has reminded me America has to WANT to change,” Colbert said in a statement.Showtime and Colbert previously partnered for a live election night special covering the presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Nov.

Rob Owen The 2020 Emmy-nominated variety talk series — Comedy Central’s “Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” TBS’ “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and CBS’s “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — all had to quickly pivot at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In today’s TV news roundup, Quibi released a trailer for Jennifer Lopez’s “Thanks A Million,” and Variety got an exclusive first look at the trailer for “JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales.”

By Peter White

Just as the March 18 edition of “CBS This Morning” ended at 9 a.m. ET, executive producer Diana Miller was informed that the show’s studio was about to be shut down for the second time in a week because of the threat of exposure to the coronavirus.

By Denise Petski

By Peter White