Jones To Star on Court TV With Own Daily Talker
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/7/2007 2:01:00 AM
Former View cast member and attorney Star Jones Reynolds will host a daily daytime live talk show on Court TV, the network has confirmed.
The show marks Jones' return to Court, where she started her TV career in 1991, and to series TV after having been booted from The View in June after nine years. Reynolds will become an executive editor at Court TV and will host an hour-long show providing her perspective and interviews on crime and justice stories from news and pop culture.
Jones' yet unnamed program, slated to premiere later this year, represents a departure for Turner-owned Court TV's daytime schedule, which for the last several years has focused almost entirely on trial coverage. The network was up 33% over last year in total-day viewing during February to an average 680,000 total viewers and 296,000 viewers 18-49.
Last summer Jones surprised her co-hosts and The View's producers by announcing her departure on air days before she had agreed she would. She left the show amidst disagreements with its co-owner/EP Barbara Walters. A former Brooklyn District Attorney, Jones began her TV career as a studio commentator for Court TV for the 1991 William Kennedy Smith rape trial.
After that, she went on become the legal correspondent for Today and NBC's Nightly News and later hosted a syndicated show, Jones & Jury. That led to her being named senior correspondent/chief legal analyst for Inside Edition and ultimately to her gig on The View, which lasted from 1997 through 2006.
“I am very excited to join the Court TV and Turner Broadcasting family,” said Reynolds in a statement. “My goal is to inform, empower, educate and entertain viewers. And Court TV is the perfect place to accomplish that mission.”
Court's Executive VP Marlene Dann announced Reynolds' new show. “Star Jones Reynolds is an extraordinary TV talent,” said Dann. “Her personality, experience as a successful prosecuting attorney and her ability as a talk show host make her a perfect choice for this new program. We are confident that her exceptional ability to both inform and entertain will make her a great addition to the Court TV family.”
Said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, added: “The public is fascinated by the intersection of the legal world and the pop-culture world, and we hope to tap into that fascination as part of our overall strategy to broaden the appeal of the network’s daytime line-up. Star Jones Reynolds provides an ideal blend of legal brilliance and pop-culture savvy to help us achieve that goal. We are proud to have her on board.”
Jones guest-hosted a week of House Hunters on HGTV in July that helped that show to some of its best ratings.
