Arch, ironic and understated, Have I Got News for You is the quintessential British comedy quiz, but its creators are hoping a US version of the show can translate its particular brand of political humour across the Atlantic.
A US adaptation of the show will be broadcast by CNN in the autumn, to coincide with the presidential election. It will hit screens on Saturday nights – part of a double-bill with Bill Maher’s Real Time.
Mark Thompson, the former BBC director general who is the chief executive at CNN, said both were “very, very smart shows”.
He told Ad Week: “The idea is: let’s see what Saturday nights are like when we’re sitting back and enjoying and laughing at what’s happening in the world – as well as still exploring it.”
It is not the first time television executives have attempted to take the long-running British show – now in its 67th series – to a US audience. The comedian Sam Seder piloted versions in 2009 for NBC and then in 2012 for TBS – but both fell flat.
CNN is yet to announce who will host the show, and who will feature as team captains – the latter roles having been occupied in the UK by Ian Hislop and Paul Merton since HIGNFY, as it is also known, launched in 1990.
The UK show was hosted by Angus Deayton from 1990 until 2002, but after a series of revelations about his private life the series has used guest hosts, including the comedian Jo Brand, the presenter Jeremy Clarkson and the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
In an interview with Televisual in 2016, the series producer, Jo Bunting, said the show did not use hosts “for novelty’s sake”, but added that some guests brought their own touch of magic.
She said: “Two of my favourite shows were the ones hosted by Brian Blessed (“I’LL BE SPEAKING AT ABOUT THIS LEVEL. IS THAT OK?”) and William Shatner (“Remind me what the show’s called? “What Have You Been Up To Lately?”).”
Hat Trick Productions, the company behind the series, will make the US version. Its co-founder and executive producer, Jimmy Mulville, said: “To bring Have I Got News for You to such an iconic network as CNN is a great honour and career highlight for us all at Hat Trick.” In keeping with the spirit of the show, he added: “I just hope there will be something interesting going on in the fall for us to talk about!”
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Amy Entelis, the executive vice-president of talent for CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide, said: “We have been looking for innovative ways to explore new formats and expand the boundaries of CNN programming.
“The series is the standard-bearer of the genre and ripe for its American reincarnation as we revitalise Saturday nights on CNN.”