CNN 2.0: Reality TV, Late-Night Talk Shows

Network seeks stars in Anthony Bourdain mold
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2012 12:35 PM CDT
CNN 2.0: Reality TV, Late-Night Talk Shows
Honoree Anderson Cooper from CNN attends the 71st Annual Peabody Awards in New York, Monday, May 21, 2012.   (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

With CNN boss Jim Walton preparing to exit, the news network is going to look very different in a matter of months. As CNN preps a serious facelift, on the table are five reality shows on Saturday and Sunday nights, as well as a new show with celeb chef Anthony Bourdain. Late nights will likely feature a talk show in the mold of The View, airing at 11pm. And the network is currently searching for new personalities who aren't necessarily from the world of news; Bourdain, the New York Post reports, is the "prototype."

Another change: CNN is ready to take on outside producers for its shows, something it's never done in the past. It's like "that moment when MTV decided to stop playing music videos, because it wasn’t working more," says an insider. The current primetime lineup could largely disappear—except for Anderson Cooper, whose wide appeal means CNN will stick with him. (Cooper's woes are decidedly more personal in nature.)

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