CNN gambles on new Bill Weir show

Starting in 2013, CNN began airing shows created by outside production companies that might otherwise have landed on networks such as History and Discovery. They featured well-known personalities and journalists who have had shows on other networks: Anthony Bourdain, Morgan Spurlock, Lisa Ling, Mike Rowe and John Walsh. Most have been successful and none have been canceled.

Bill Weir, hired by CNN President Jeff Zucker from ABC News in 2013, this Sunday is debuting his own CNN travelogue show, “The Wonder List,” and visits locales that may not be around in their current state much longer due to climate change or man-made encroachments.

“I’m a storyteller,” Weir said on the show in way of introduction. “I have reported from all over the world, and I have seen so much change. So I made a list.”

The first season’s eight episodes cover five continents starting in the Vanuatu Islands in the South Pacific. He later visits places such as the sinking canals of Venice, the shrinking jungles of India and the ever-drier Dead Sea.

"For example, I wonder … who will be the last person to ski the Alps? Or see a tiger in the wild? Or get baptized in the River Jordan?" he asks in an essay on CNN.com. He said he has an 11-year-old daughter, and he wonders what will be gone forever when she reaches his age (47) in 2050.

Weir faces hurdles his show host cohorts do not. He doesn’t possess the name recognition of Bourdain, Spurlock or Ling. But his eight-episode season, though produced in house by CNN, is being marketed and scheduled like companion shows as prime-time entertainment that can be repeated multiple times.

Stylistically, Weir is more Rowe than Bourdain. He isn’t edgy or sardonic. He’s sweet-natured and kind to everyone he deals with. He marvels at nature, whether it’s a live volcano in Vanuatu or the swamps of the Galapagos Islands.

Weir, in an interview, said he’s grateful Zucker gave him such an open palette, enabling him to travel the world and tell stories about change. He spent eight days to two weeks in each location with a small production team including an award-winning filmmaker, Philip Bloom.

“It’s a bit of an ice bath to leave daily live hits,” said Weir, who began his broadcast career in 1991 and spent nine years at ABC News. “When you’re used to being on TV consistently, it’s odd to disappear for six months and make these mini-films. But I’m telling you: This is the highlight of my career. I had the best time. I think we got some special material. I can’t wait to get it out there.”