Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold a new, one-hour daily strip hosted by Anderson Cooper to major market stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston for a fall 2011 debut. The series has been sold in New York (WPIX), Los Angeles (KTTV), Chicago (WFLD) and Boston (WFXT). The initial clearances for the show were announced today by Ken Werner, President, and Rick Meril, Executive Vice President & General Sales Manager, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
The series will be based in New York City and produced by Telepictures Productions in association with StrongChild Productions and Anderson Cooper will serve as an executive producer.
“Although the marketplace for fall 2011 has been filled by many returning franchises and the expansion of news programs, there is still a big opportunity across stations,” said Werner. “We are delighted that these major market stations have embraced the opportunity to bring one of America’s finest storytellers to daytime and early fringe viewers.”
“We are excited to be able to bring someone of Anderson’s caliber to daytime. He will bring to viewers the biggest celebrity and newsmaker interviews, fascinating human interest stories and in-depth coverage of pop culture, social issues, trends and major events,” said Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions. “He’s got a proven skill set and the diverse experience to propel him to succeed in this format day in and day out. Anderson is an iconic talent whose intelligence, compassion, charisma, sense of humor and genuine appeal will enable him to stand out and create an emotional connection with women in daytime.”
Like his predecessors Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue, Anderson Cooper will create a daily destination for multiple generations of women looking to be informed and entertained, gain perspective, have a voice and stay connected to each other and the world around them. Cooper will address water cooler topics and interview real people and celebrities to get the personal stories behind the headlines. From undercover investigations to hidden camera experiments, the show will give the audience new perspective in an effort to gain insight into relevant issues and social trends affecting women’s lives.
Cooper will continue to anchor CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” a provocative alternative to the typical network evening newscast, airing weeknights at 10 p.m. ET.
Cooper joined CNN in December 2001 and served as CNN’s weekend anchor before moving to prime time in March 2003 following the war in Iraq. In addition to reporting for CNN, Cooper, an award-winning journalist, also provides reports for CBS’s “60 Minutes.” Dispatches from the Edge, Cooper’s memoir about covering the South Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and other news events, topped the New York Times Bestsellers List and other bestseller charts. Before joining CNN, Cooper was an ABC News correspondent and host of the network’s reality program, “The Mole.” He anchored ABC’s live, interactive news and interview program, “World News Now,” as well as providing reports for “World News Tonight,” “20/20” and “20/20 Downtown.”
(Source: Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution)
