CBS All Access' animated series Tooning Out the News is back on after briefly shutting down amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The series, executive produced by Stephen Colbert, had pushed its planned March 16 premiere date after the pandemic shut down hundreds of TV and movie productions. Production will resume on the show, with all staff working remotely, for an April 7 premiere on the streaming platform.
Tooning Out the News is a parody of cable news shows that will feature short daily segments running Tuesday through Friday, culminating in a full, half-hour episode Friday. Segments include "Big News" (tagline: "America's most trusted source of conventional wisdom"), "Inside the Hill" ("Where America turns to hear rich people agree with each other"), "Hot Take" ("The biggest, baddest bad-faith arguments on television"), "Virtue Signal" ("There's no cause this white lady can't make about herself") and "Smart Talk Tonight" ("Important discussions, discussed importantly").
The show will also feature real-life guests being interviewed by the show's animated newspeople. Confirmed guests for the show include Dan Abrams, Alan Dershowitz, Donny Deutsch, Thomas Friedman, Nicholas Kristof, Olivia Nuzzi and Congress members Barbara Lee, Donna Shalala and Eric Swalwell.
Colbert executive produces with Late Show EP Chris Licht and R.J. Fried and Tim Luecke of Showtime's Our Cartoon President. Luecke created the animated version of Donald Trump that originally appeared as a "guest" on The Late Show, which led to Our Cartoon President.
