CNN New Year’s Eve 2023 start time, lineup, and drinking ban
So where do we begin here? Well, we should note that the plan is for the show tonight, hosted by Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper, to air starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. Below, you can see via a network press release all of the people who are going to appear and/or perform:
The show will include many guest stars throughout the night, including performances from 8-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist Usher from his Las Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, Kevin Hart joins live from Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas for an interview and special toast, Ellie Goulding performs new music from her upcoming album “Higher Than Heaven”, the legendary Patti LaBelle, REO Speedwagon, Nick Cannon, Jenifer Lewis, John Stamos, Tenacious D’s Jack Black and Kyle Gass, and many more. Actress Jean Smart, comedienne Cheri Oteri will be in-person with Anderson and Andy and global popstar Ava Max will perform live in Times Square.
For those wondering, Don Lemon will anchor things in Central Time, as he works to ring in the new year from New Orleans.
The bad news
There won’t be any on-air drinking this year, as CNN has apparently decided that they don’t think it’s a good look for their anchors to get wasted on New Year’s Eve. For us personally, this was one of the better parts of the show! It actually made everyone feel more human and relatable; it wasn’t like anyone was getting drunk and publicly bashing their bosses or their employer. Instead, we just had Lemon dancing around and getting a piercing. What’s wrong with that? (Cohen himself told the New York Post that even though there is no drinking, he and his longtime friend Cooper will have “a blast.”)
So yeah … this may hamper some of the excitement for tonight’s show.
Are you still planning to watch the CNN New Year’s Eve broadcast, even if things won’t be as boozy?
Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, come back for all sorts of other news. (Photo: CNN.)