Former ESPN stars Cari Champion and Jemele Hill have a new show together on CNN's streaming platform, the network announced this week.
The two will host Cari & Jemele: Speak.Easy. “From the biggest stories in sports, entertainment, politics, and culture, they'll tell you how they see it,” CNN's announcement reads.
“I’m so thrilled to join CNN+. The beauty and authenticity of my friendship with Jemele has always been at the heart of our creative partnership,” Champion said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to be part of the CNN family and share our brand of ‘speakeasy’ with the world.”
The pair have worked together over the years, spending a number of years at ESPN before breaking off to work on podcasts and for other platforms. They also collaborated on the weekly talk show Cari and Jemele (Won’t) Stick to Sports on Vice TV.
Hill serves as a contributing writer at The Atlantic and hosts the podcast Jemele Hill is Unbothered on Spotify. Meanwhile, Champion is the host of podcast Naked with Cari Champion for iHeartRadio and was host of Turner Sports’ The Arena. She also worked as the primetime co-anchor of Tokyo Tonight on NBC’s Peacock Channel during the 2021 Summer Olympics.
“I believe the old adage is that if you work with one of your best friends, then you’ll never work a day in your life. While I made that up, there’s a certain magic that happens when Cari and I collaborate together,” Hill said in a statement. “The CNN family is a perfect partner for us because they understand our chemistry and appreciate that our boldness is our strength.”
