by Frank Holmes, reporter
He’s baaa-aack!
Chris Cuomo, the former top-rated host on CNN lost his livelihood last year. Now, he’s campaigning for a new TV show… and we’ll know a lot more about his plans as early as tonight.
Cuomo used to have it all.
His brother, Andrew Cuomo, was well on his way to setting a record-breaking tenure as New York’s longest-serving governor.
Chris Cuomo landed the 9 p.m. spot as host of “Cuomo Prime Time,” and he quickly became CNN’s number one show.
He advised his brother, earned a multimillion-dollar salary, and had the respect of his colleagues, who regularly showed montages of the muscle-bound 51-year-old working out.
Then, Andrew Cuomo lost his hold on power… and CNN suddenly lost interest in his younger brother.
A string of women accused the governor of sexual misconduct over many years, reportedly touching, caressing, and fondling women who came into contact with him during his years as a newly divorced governor.
New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that Chris Cuomo had advised his brother closely on how to push back against the women—even if what they said is true.
Old allegations also surfaced that Chris Cuomo had sexually harassed a woman while he had worked at ABC News, grabbing her posterior during a party.
Last December, as one of his own final acts, then-CNN President Jeff Zucker fired Cuomo.
Cuomo also “resigned” from his XM Sirius radio show at the same time.
Cuomo didn’t exactly take his ouster lying down, though. He saw CNN’s vast fortune and told his legal team, “Let’s get after it!”
Chris Cuomo filed a legal complaint with arbitration accusing CNN of wrongful termination—and asking for a $125 million settlement…and his complaint exposed some ugly truths.
Cuomo’s legal filings said that Jeff Zucker knew all about his advising his brother—and Zucker approved of everything he did. He said Zucker also violated CNN policy by having a longstanding affair with a subordinate employee. Soon Zucker and his alleged mistress were gone, too.
We haven’t heard from Cuomo… until now.
“Something’s coming…Summer 22,” Cuomo posted on Instagram.
Then, the upstart news channel NewsNation shared pictures of Cuomo in Ukraine.
Another piece of his media comeback fell into place last Thursday, when Cuomo went back on the audio airwaves.
He released “The Chris Cuomo Show” podcast last week, which he called a new “home to independents, free thinkers, and those who don’t fit nicely on one side or the other. Let’s get after it.”
Chris Cuomo wasn’t exactly known as an independent during his time on the air. In addition to performing controversial interviews with his brother, interviewing Andrew for laughs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he could be counted on to repeat the Democratic Party line at any time—especially if the subject was President Donald Trump.
Why the sudden pose as an “independent,” instead of his lifelong reputation as a fire-breathing liberal?
That piece falls into place tonight.
Cuomo’s interview on “Dan Abrams Live”—which airs during Cuomo’s old top-rated slot of 9 p.m. Eastern—“will be a comprehensive interview with Cuomo, the former host of CNN’s most popular prime-time show ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’” announced NewsNation. “Abrams and Cuomo will discuss Cuomo’s past, what he’s been doing since his departure.”
“And his plans for the future,” NewsNation said.
Speculation is building that the ever-growing network—which says it reports old fashioned news, like CNN was intended to do—will announce Cuomo is joining its roster.
NewsNation runs news in the morning and evening, but the network airs reliable, tried-and-true TV reruns, like “Blue Bloods,” the rest of the day.
But Abrams has made no secret he wants to compete with the other cable news networks, presenting his network as the truly fair-and-balanced option.
Leland Vittert, formerly of Fox News, leans a little to the Right; Cuomo would more than balance him out on the Left.
Or possibly Cuomo will enter the network with a conservative host, who will battle him “Hannity and Colmes” style.
Cuomo announced on his podcast, which came in close to the top of iTunes, that he’s ready to “move on” with his life. Abrams wants to move forward with his network.
Is Chris Cuomo coming back to TV? Should he? What do you think?
Frank Holmes is a veteran journalist and an outspoken conservative that talks about the news that was in his weekly article, “On The Holmes Front.”