Michael Ian Black talks Savannah, ‘Have I Got News For You'
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Comedian Michael Ian Black, best known for 'Have I Got News For You' is no stranger to Savannah.
The 'Wet Hot American Summer' actor tours as a comedian but lives in the Hostess City, thanks in large part to his son once attending the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD). Black, at one time a Connecticut resident, was first tipped off to the Coastal Empire after a Zillow search.
'Savannah was on the list,' Black said. 'Our son was already going to school here, so I just went on Zillow and I was like, What's for sale in Savannah? And then we saw something and then we bought it a week later.'
This was after his son was enrolled in the school. Black has lived here ever since, and every once in a while shares his talent with the community. In December, he recited Truman Capote's 'A Christmas Memory' at the Old Dairy Farm, hosted by the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home Museum.
Soon after that reading, it was announced that his latest role as a panelist on CNN's 'Have I Got News For You' would continue, with season two premiering on Feb. 15.
The comedy show hosted by 'Daily Show' alum Roy Wood Jr. combines game show and panel chat show for a new formula that turns dishing on topical subjects into play. Black is a regular on the panel along with comedian, talk show host and 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' writer Amber Ruffin.
Black and Ruffin are joined by two guest panelists apiece, divided into 'Micheal's Team' and 'Amber's Team.'
The formula is not new, but it has only recently made its debut in the United States.
'The show was created 35 years ago,' said Black. 'It's been running in the U.K. for decades. So, I don't know what the impetus was. And I know they'd been trying to bring it over here for several years. I was actually involved in one of those efforts, I mean, I feel like over ten years ago, and I didn't even remember that I had been involved in one of those efforts until I came back to do it this time. And the executive producer and producer reminded me that I had been I had done a pilot of this show already, and I had forgotten. But I think the real question is why did CNN choose to take this show as it was? You really it's not just like, let's put some funny pictures up and do some things. It's you've got some researchers and some producers that are pretty politically savvy, right?'
'Have I Got News For You' skewers the current Trump administration, a task that in a time of intense political volatility, Black says it is harder than you think.
'There's two problems that we're dealing with,' said Black. 'The first is that none of us find what's happening funny, like when we're not backstage, just like slapping our knees at the news cycle. I would I don't want to say it feels existential, but it's not that far off from being existential. And then the second problem is because certain individuals in our government are dominating, they essentially are competing for every last molecule of oxygen that we have.'
Despite this, Black insists that the weekly show offers a range of opinions, particularly from guest panelists. While the hosts lean liberal in their ideologies, guests such as Republican U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (NY-13) and Tim Burchett (TN-02) have brought an opposing viewpoint to the panel.
'The way I look at it is if we're inviting you on to this show, it is akin to inviting you to our home,' Black said.
While Black insists on inviting others into his TV home, he remains welcomed in the Savannah community that he continues to call home.
'Have I Got News For You' airs Sunday nights on CNN at 9:00 p.m. ET, and each episode can be viewed on Max.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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