New Late-Night Public Affairs Series "Amanpour and Company" Premieres Tonight with Headlining Guests Christine Lagarde and Kellyanne Conway

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The new one-hour late-night public affairs series Amanpour and Company premieres nationwide tonight on PBS with a special episode at 10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), followed by a second episode airing in the series' regularly-scheduled 11:00 p.m. ET hour (check local listings).

Anchor Christiane Amanpour leads the new series at 10:00 p.m. with one-on-one interviews with Christine Lagarde, president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President of the United States. A roundtable with Amanpour and the program's four contributors – journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan – will follow.

At 11:00 p.m., Amanpour interviews Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and actor Ethan Hawke, with contributor Hari Sreenivasan rounding out the episode with an interview featuring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater artistic director Robert Battle.

"The Amanpour and Company team has an incredibly diverse and strong roster of guests planned for the first episodes of the program, demonstrating the breadth of issues this program will tackle," said Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET. "Amanpour and Company is a breath of fresh air in late night television, presenting serious discussions on topics of importance."

"I am eager to welcome PBS viewers to Amanpour and Company, and we have planned our first programs to give a broad look at the types of guests, topics and interview formats they can expect to see in the weeks and months ahead," said Christiane Amanpour. "The news has never moved faster, and our team of trusted reporters and producers are committed to seeking out and highlighting the real difference-makers to provide important context on a nightly basis."

Upcoming interviews by Christiane Amanpour include (subject to change):

• Jose Andres, author of We Fed an Island
• Gov. Jerry Brown
• Julia Bacha, filmmaker, Naila and the Uprising
• Alan Dershowitz, lawyer and constitutional scholar
• Cardinal Timothy Dolan
• Lisa Brennan Jobs, author of Small Fry
• Zahira Kamal, Head of Faida
• John Kerry, former Secretary of State
• Sen. Angus King
• Paul Krugman, American economist, Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and columnist for The New York Times
• Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of A Place for Us
• Sarah Jessica Parker, actress and co-founder of SJP for Hogarth
• Jeffrey Toobin, legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker, and Alan Dershowitz, lawyer, academic and regular contributor and analyst to CNN and Fox News

Upcoming interviews by Amanpour and Company contributors include (subject to change):

• Alan Alda, actor (Michel Martin)
• Michael Arceneaux, New York Times best-selling author of I Can't Date Jesus (Alicia Menendez)
• Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times (Walter Isaacson)
• Preet Bharara, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Hari Sreenivasan)
• Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker (Walter Isaacson)
• Grant Hill, hall of fame NBA player, and Tamia Hill (Michel Martin)
• Jameela Jamil, actress and model (Alicia Menendez)
• M.I.A., rapper, songwriter, record producer and activist (Alicia Menendez)
• Alexis Ohanian, General Partner at Initialized Capital and co-founder of Reddit (Hari Sreenivasan)
• Ginni Rometty, chair, president and CEO of IBM (Walter Isaacson)
• Tracey Ullman, actress and comedian
• Damian Woetzel, president of the Juilliard School (Walter Isaacson)

Amanpour and Company will feature wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, entertainment, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City. The new series, an expansion of CNN's flagship program Amanpour, will continue to air on CNN International weekdays.

Amanpour and Company is a collaboration between WLIW LLC for WNET, and CNN. For WNET: Neal Shapiro, Diane Masciale and Stephen Segaller are executives in charge.

Major support for Amanpour and Company is provided by Uniworld River Cruises, a first-time supporter of public television, Rosalind P. Walter, Bernard and Irene Schwartz, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim, III, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family and public television viewers.

About the Amanpour and Company On-Air Talent and Production Team

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour has earned every major television journalism award, including 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, two George Polk Awards, three duPont-Columbia Awards and the Courage in Journalism Award. She has received nine honorary degrees, has been named CBE (a British honor awarded by the Queen of England, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), and was this year inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. She is an honorary citizen of Sarajevo and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of the Press and the Safety of Journalists.

Author and journalist Walter Isaacson is a professor of history at Tulane University and the past President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies institute based in Washington, DC. He has been the chairman and CEO of CNN and the editor of Time magazine.

Emmy-winning veteran journalist Michel Martin is the weekend host of NPR's "All Things Considered" and former host of "Tell Me More." Her previous credits include ABC News, Nightline, covering politics for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, serving as a regular panelist on Washington Week and This Week with George Stephanopoulos and a contributor to NOW with Bill Moyers. Martin has received numerous honors, including the Joan Barone Award for Excellence in Washington-based National Affairs/Public Policy Broadcasting from the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association.

Alicia Menendez is contributing editor at Bustle, host of the podcast Latina to Latina and former anchor and special correspondent for Fusion, where she covered stories at the intersection of politics and pop culture. Named "Broadcast Journalism's New Gladiator" by Elle magazine, and "Ms. Millennial" by The Washington Post, Menendez has emerged as one of the most influential voices of her generation.

Hari Sreenivasan is the anchor of PBS NewsHour Weekend, a senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour and host of the national public television series SciTech Now. Previously, the Emmy-winning journalist worked for CBS News, reporting regularly on the CBS Evening News, The Early Show and CBS Sunday Morning. Before that, he served as an anchor and correspondent for ABC News, reporting for ABC News Now, World News Tonight, Nightline and anchoring World News Now.

Executive Producer Scott E. Davis brings more than 10 years of experience in news and talk programming to Amanpour and Company, having previously served in a variety of senior roles on Exposé, Need to Know and most recently PBS NewsHour Weekend.

Gina Kim, a veteran of NOW with Bill Moyers and Moyers and Company, joins Amanpour and Company as co-executive producer. Kim's varied career has included roles at Women in the World Media created by Tina Brown, NOW on PBS, MSNBC, and, most recently, executive producer of the 5-part PBS national series #MeToo, Now What?

About WNET
WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! And Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history experience. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person. Through multi-platform initiatives Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America and Peril and Promise: The Challenge of Climate Change, WNET showcases the human stories around these issues and promising solutions. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.

About PBS
PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 90 million people through television and 30 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS' premier children's media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.

About CNN
CNN Worldwide is the most honored brand in cable news, reaching more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable news organization in the United States. Globally, CNN International is the most widely distributed news channel, reaching over 354 million households. CNN Digital is the #1 online news destination across all platforms, with more unique visitors and video starts than any other competitor. CNN's award winning portfolio also includes CNN Original Series, which develops non-scripted programming for television via commissioned projects, acquisitions and in-house production. CNN Films produces, commissions and acquires documentary feature and short films for theatrical and festival exhibition, as well as for broadcast and other distribution across CNN's multiple platforms. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world's most extensively utilized news service partnering with over 1,000 local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Turner, a Time Warner company.

SOURCE WNET