(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) CNN host Chris Wallace debuted his new show, Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, and was greeted with abysmal ratings and reviews.
Wallace’s showbrought in only 401,000 viewers, which, according to The Post Millennial, is 29% less than the 2022 average for the 7 p.m. time slot.
Looking closer at the demographics, only 44,000 viewers from the 25-54 age group watched the pilot episode—that’s 36% of the 2022 average.
In an attempt to find a silver lining around what appears to be a complete flop, CNN pointed out that the show was available on HBO Max three days before its initial appearance on regularly scheduled television.
“Live domestic TV viewers represent only a fraction of its intended audience,” the network explained in a statement to the New York Post, adding that the show “doesn’t follow a typical linear distribution model so its success won’t be determined like one.”
“Who’s Talking? premiered on HBO Max on Friday with three fantastic episodes and was promoted throughout the weekend to HBO Max’s massive subscriber base,” the spokesperson said.
Wallace was bested by his former employer, Fox News, whose programming received 1.3 million viewers on the same night.
Wallace was a key figure on Fox for nearly 20 years before jumping ship earlier this year.
He switched to CNN under the former CEO, who promised premiere spots on the network’s streaming service—which also tanked miserably.
Wallace appears to be attempting to rebrand himself as a pseudo-late night host, interviewing celebrities and discussing topics outside of the political realm.
He received poor reviews for singing along with country artist Shania Twain to her hit 1990s-era single “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
Wallace will be interviewing retired baseball player Alex Rodriguez to discuss his dating history in next week’s episode.
Who’s talking to Chris Wallace?
No one apparently.— Alfredo Dente (@AlfredoDente2) September 27, 2022
Maybe he can MC the pie eating contest at the next county fair
— Slap Schott (@anklebendershow) September 27, 2022
Another solid flop for Chris Wallace at CNN. https://t.co/pfF9B2yoyO
— 🌞Jersey Shore⚓️ 🇺🇸Red, White & Blue🇺🇸 (@elliott_correia) September 27, 2022
