Strombo heads to CNN for summer

TORONTO — CBC-TV talkshow host George Stroumboulopoulos is headed to CNN.

The U.S. all-news channel says the man popularly known as Strombo will host a weekly hour-long interview show this summer.

The 10-episode series will air Fridays in prime time and shoot in Los Angeles in front of a live audience. It begins May 31.

But that doesn’t mean he’s leaving CBC-TV’s George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.

Kirstine Stewart, CBC’s executive vice-president of English services, says he’ll resume the talk show in the fall, tweeting: “Don’t worry, Canada’s best BF not going too far for too long.”

“I feel really lucky to have been in broadcasting for 20 years up in Canada,” Stroumboulopoulos said in a release posted on CNN’s online press room. “And I’m excited to now also bring our conversations with people making the biggest news in entertainment, politics, sports and pop culture to a whole new audience.”

CNN praised his “fresh, thought-provoking style” that “fuses big ideas, with art, pop culture, politics, news, sports and celebrity.”

In 2006, Stroumboulopoulos crossed the border to host the ABC short-lived reality series The One: Making A Music Star.

CBC extended its congratulations to Strombo.

“Just as George continues to inspire, engage and entertain Canadians on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and The Strombo Show, now viewers across North America will have the chance to watch him on CNN every week,” Stewart said.