CNN Original Series Releases First Look and Introduces "Craig Ferguson: American On Purpose"

NEW YORK - (February 5, 2026) - CNN announced today that Emmy(R) and Peabody-winning comedian and host Craig Ferguson will host a new CNN Original Series, Craig Ferguson: American On Purpose, a cross-country journey to explore the topics and people who make up modern America and ask what it really means to be American today. Produced by The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television, the series will premiere later this year as part of CNN Originals' anticipated 2026 programming slate.

"Any chance I get to remind my fellow Americans that we are still the best idea for a country anyone has ever had I'm going to take it. My eagle is still bald and my banner is still spangled with stars," said Ferguson.

American On Purpose unpacks the country's chaotic, triumphant, and controversial 250-year journey of independence. Ferguson explores the identity of the country he now calls home after becoming a proud citizen in 2008, digging into its freedoms, contradictions, and cultural quirks. The journey takes him from monster truck rallies to Ellis Island and beyond, combining American history with his signature wit and playfulness to meet the moment of the nation's 250th anniversary.

"Craig has an extraordinary ability to ask serious questions without losing a sense of joy, perspective, or humanity," said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide. "At a moment of reflection for the country, the series invites viewers to look inward through a voice that is insightful, generous, and profound."

American On Purpose continues the legacy of CNN Original Series' host-led storytelling that examines culture and the human experience, joining an award-winning library of premium programming streaming on the CNN app.

Executive producers for the series are Craig Ferguson; Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, and Erin Gamble for IPC; showrunner Morgan Fallon; Amy Entelis, Lyle Gamm and Katie Hinman for CNN.

Ferguson is represented by WME, Vault Entertainment and Gang, Tyre.

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About CNN Originals

The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN's global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films' first Academy Award(R) for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy(R) nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy(R) nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy(R) Award-nominated "Decades Series": The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not directed by Emmy(R) winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy(R) Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar(R), BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy(R) and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.

ABOUT THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION

The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television, is a multi-Emmy winning content creation and best-in-class production studio based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2016 by Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman, IPC develops and produces a wide array of premium nonfiction television series, unscripted formats, documentary feature films. Committed to excellence in both storytelling and artistry, IPC works with notable entertainment platforms across the U.S and abroad. Recent productions include Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal, With Love, Meghan, Indian Matchmaking and Night Stalker (Netflix); Secrets of Playboy (A&E); Selena + Restaurant (Food Network); The Climb (HBO Max); We're Here (HBO); A Plan to Kill (Oxygen); Expedition from Hell: The Lost Tapes (Discovery); United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper (CNN); Death in the Dorms, The D'Amelio Show, and RapCaviar Presents (Hulu); and The Con (ABC). IPC is a two-time Emmy Award recipient and a Producers Guild Award recipient for its series Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath (A&E).