CNN is bidding auld lang syne to the team that has helped its viewers ring in the New Year since 2007.
Anderson Cooper will continue to help CNN viewers see the ball drop at Times Square on New Year’s Eve, but in the last moments of 2017, he will be joined by Andy Cohen, not Kathy Griffin. After Griffin posted a photo of herself brandishing a severed head that looked like President Trump, CNN decided to cut ties with the comedienne. Andy Cohen, a Cooper friend who hosts Watch What Happens Live on Bravo, will team up with the anchor for the next end-of-year telecast.
If the repartee seems relaxed in late December, it’s because Cooper and Cohen have made their interactions into an act – literally. The two tour regularly and host a night of conversation across the country. Indeed, they will be on the road regularly throughout the rest of 2017, traveling to Nashville, Tampa, and Dallas, among other cities.
“Andy is the life of the party wherever he goes, and what bigger party is there than New Year’s Eve?” asked Cooper in a well-rehearsed statement. ” It is going to be a blast!”
“I’ve been friends with Anderson for twenty-five years. We’ve traveled the world together and performed in 30 plus cities with ‘AC2,’ and it’s all led to this one huge night!” Cohen added.
CNN has aired a New Year’s Eve show for more than a decade. The program regularly features dispatches from correspondents from around the world.
