Anderson Cooper’s syndicated daytime talk show is still a year away from launching — but Warner Bros. Television announced on Monday that it has secured distribution in four major markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.
The yet-to-be-titled one-hour show will debut next fall on WPIX in New York, KTTV in L.A., WFLD in Chicago and WFXT in Boston.
With those key markets on board, Cooper is being positioned as a major daytime star, in the mold of Phil Donahue and Oprah.
The show will shoot in New York, with Cooper serving as an executive producer. Telepictures and StrongChild Productions are producing.
Telepictures president Hilary Estey McLoughlin called Cooper "an iconic talent whose intelligence, compassion, charisma, sense of humor and genuine appeal will enable him to stand out and create an emotional connection with women in daytime."
Cooper recently signed a new contract with CNN that will allow him to explore daytime in addition to his anchoring duties on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." CNN previously had an exclusive contract with Cooper that was due to expire in 2011.
When the show was announced in September, Warner Brothers Domestic Television president Ken Werner Distribution told TheWrap that Cooper's ambitions were not satisfied with staying confined to CNN's low-rated primetime lineup.
"He wants to continue to do the CNN show, but there's a part of his personality and his ambition in another area that allows him to do both," Werner said.
