CNN will move anchor Chris Wallace‘s interview show, Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, to HBO Max starting this fall, following the abrupt cancellation of streaming service CNN Plus after just 33 days in the market.
Who's Talking will also air on the linear CNN.
The show unfurled a dozen episodes on CNN Plus in April, with Wallace interviewing Jen Psaki, Ken Burns, Bob Iger, Ashton Kutcher, among other well knowns, before CNN Plus' April 30 shuttering.
Wallace was a former ABC and NBC broadcast newsman who was lured by late Fox News chief Roger Ailes. Wallace spent 18 years at Fox News, his more centrist presence becoming increasingly conspicuous as the channel waded further and further to the position of far-right advocacy.
Wallace was earning a reported $7 million a year when he made the jump to CNN in December.
“Part of the CNN brand is respectful, authentic and impactful interviews and one of the best interviewers in the business is Chris Wallace,” said Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. “Chris and his team developed an engaging and compelling program that we’re excited to bring to HBO Max and include in our CNN Sunday evening programming.”
Notably, Jason Kilar, former CEO of CNN’s erstwhile pre-Discovery merger parent WarnerMedia, said last year that many CNN Plus shows would end up on HBO Max.
The decision to place Chris Wallace on HBO Max is one of many talent-related moves CNN and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery are making, as they weigh what to do with all the programming they greenlit for CNN Plus. Notably, WBD also announced Wednesday that Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico will debut exclusively on CNN linear. ■
