Craig Ferguson is going back to the daily grind on his own offbeat terms, setting a deal with SiriusXM to host a live two-hour program to air weekdays from 6-8 p.m. ET.
The Craig Ferguson Show is set to bow Feb. 27 on the satellite radio service. The show is described as a mix of long-form interviews, guest visits, viewer call-in segments, sketches, observations from Ferguson and little story pieces of the type that Ferguson loved from listening to the U.K. radio version of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in his youth.
The former host of CBS Late Late Show promises the program will be format-free and only feature guests that interest him rather than celebrities with an agent to plug a project.He has enlisted two former producers of Late Late Show to help him with the SiriusXM program.
I like the idea of trying to do it a little different and a little strange, Ferguson told Variety. SiriusXM has built a radio studio in Fergusons home in Los Angeles (Ill have a 15-second commute, he said), and he will also be able to take the show on the road as needed. He intends to bring the show to New York in March.
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With the SiriusXM show, Ferguson said hell be free to take on what interests him on any given day without having to worry about having to appeal to a broad range of viewers. SiriusXM at present has 31.3 million subscribers. Craig Ferguson will air on the Comedy Greats channel, reflecting SiriusXMs recent push to beef up its roster of comedy programming.
Im only making this show for people who already understand and like me, Ferguson said. Its kind of an experiment. Its a two-year deal. If I like them and they like me, well do more.
SiriusXM has vowed to give Ferguson control of the show, nor does he have to worry about network censorship in the pay-radio realm.
Craig Ferguson is a great broadcasting talent with a singular style, said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXMs president and chief content officer. Throughout his impressive, award-winning career, Craigs irreverent charm has won over millions of Americans, while proving himself a true original.
Ferguson said he has missed the opportunity to comment on headline news and pop culture trends since he signed off of Late Late Show.
Its not going to be an overtly political show, but the world is overtly political right now so there will be a lot of that, Ferguson said. After the election, the job of a comedian is to speak truth to power or speak alt-facts to power.
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Ferguson is looking forward to the renewed discipline of delivering a daily entertainment program, albeit in a new medium.
I like being back in the game without being back in the game, he said.
