Have I Got News for You receives American remake

Have I Got News for You is to be remade for American audiences, in the latest attempt to transfer the British comedy show across the Atlantic.

The US version will be broadcast in the autumn on CNN as part of its new Saturday night line-up. Hat Trick Productions, the company behind the long-running British original, will make it.

Mark Thompson, the former BBC director-general who is now the chief executive at CNN, announced plans to run Have I Got News for You in a double-bill with Bill Maher’s Real Time.

“Both are 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.”

The launch of the series is timed to coincide with the presidential election.

Previous attempts to translate Have I Got News for You for US viewers have fallen flat. Sam Seder, the comedian, hosted versions in 2009 and 2012, for NBC and TBS respectively, but neither made it past the pilot stage. Comedy panel shows are not commonplace in the US, as they are in the UK.

Jimmy Mulville, the executive producer of the show and the co-founder of Hat Trick, 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.

“I just hope there will be something interesting going on in the fall for us to talk about!”

The show’s host has not been announced.

Have I Got News for You has been running in the UK since 1990, with team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton plus a rotation of guest panellists.

It was hosted by Angus Deayton until 2002, when he was sacked over sex and drugs revelations. Since then the show has been hosted by guest presenters, including Boris Johnson and Brian Blessed.

Amy Entelis, the executive vice-president of talent for CNN Originals and the 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.”