CNN released its new primetime lineup Thursday, going heavy on documentary-style shows in hopes of reversing sagging ratings.
Several industry veterans – Mike Rowe, John Walsh and Lisa Ling – will join the network starting late summer. And two of the current personalities that helped pave the way for the network’s documentary-centric strategy – Anthony Bourdain and Morgan Spurlock – will have their shows renewed.
Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs,” will join CNN this fall with a series about innovators, do-gooders, entrepreneurs, collectors and fanatics. “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” will “viewers face-to-face with men and women who march to the beat of a different drum,” the network said.
Walsh, former host of “America’s Most Wanted,” returns with “The Hunt with John Walsh,” a series about “ongoing international criminal investigations in which the suspect is a fugitive at large.”
Ling, host of “Our America” on the Oprah Winfrey Network,” will debut with a series about “far corners” and “subcultures” of America.
CNN will also premiere”The Jesus Code,” a show about “a forensic and archaeological journey through the Bible.”
CNN, whose primetime ratings have plummeted in recent years as viewers increasingly ditch cable news, tapped former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker in late 2012 to reinvigorate and diversify its offerings beyond news and talk shows.
“The best journalism is, at its core, great storytelling,” Zucker said in a statement. “The seamless integration of original series and live news coverage, which has been on display the last two months, is the foundation of our new primetime lineup.”
Bourdain, the food-and-travel author whose “Parts Unknown” is one of CNN’s most popular programs, will stay on several more years after the network picked up its option for 2015 and 2016. CNN also renewed Morgan Spurlock’s “Inside Man” for 2015.
The new primetime schedule retains Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper at the 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. slots, respectively.
CNN will fill the 9 p.m. slot with the original series announced Thursday and a weekly documentary from CNN’s in-house documentary unit.
For the 10 p.m. slot, CNN will debut a one-hour news program called CNN Tonight, a live hour review of the day’s news.
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