Roy Wood Jr. left his job as a correspondent for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” last year after it became clear he wouldn’t take over for departing host Trevor Noah.
Instead, the 45-year-old Alabama native landed a juicy acting role in the upcoming Apple TV+ black comedy “Outcome” with Keanu Reeves and taped a future Hulu stand-up special.
Then, CNN called with an offer he found intriguing: host a comedy news show called “Have I Got News For You” based on a 34-year-old BBC show. Fellow comics Michael Ian Black and Amber Ruffin will play team captains, joining a variety of pundits, politicians and sundry celebrities each week to “compete” in news-of-the-week trivia.
In many ways, it’s a TV version of the long-running NPR quiz show “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me” and debuts Saturday night at 9 p.m. on CNN for a 10-week test run.
“We take the same model as the U.K., a fake news quiz show,” Wood in a Zoom interview this week with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Me and some newsmakers from the week sit down and crack jokes about what was in the news … There will be no wrong guesses, but there will be funny guesses. It’s a game show with no clear-cut winner.”
CNN has dabbled in humor in the past without much success. Stand-up comic W. Kamau Bell also injected his wry sensibility into his on-the-road CNN series “United Shades of America” from 2016 to 2012.
“They’re going to inch their way into this water,” Wood said. “I don’t think CNN with comedy has thrown a project into the deep end with a two-year commitment. But we have an opportunity to be around for a long while.”
The show will be recorded on Fridays in New York City in front of a live studio audience. Wood said the show will not lean in any particular political direction, a tricky dance in a world where Stephen Colbert and Greg Gutfeld wear their partisanship on their sleeves.
“I am interested in targeting anybody and everybody,” Wood said. “If you’re a liberal or conservative and have an opinion about the news, come here and laugh at it. That’s the objective. I’m not interested in leaning one way or the other.”
Wood will also pay attention to the jokes already made by late-night hosts so he won’t repeat them.
As for the guests, he hopes CNN, like the BBC with their version, can convince politicians to show up as guests on the show, offering up wish-list folks like Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois governor JB Pritzker and Texas senator Ted Cruz.
At the same time, he wants variety. “I wouldn’t be mad if we had Ron DeSantis, but I also wouldn’t be mad if we had (rapper) Bun B on the same show,” he said.
The first two guests this Saturday will be Emmy nominated comedian, actress and writer Robin Thede and journalist, author and political pundit Matt Welch.
IF YOU WATCH
“Have I Got News For You,” 9 p.m. Saturdays on CNN, also available on Max
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