Anderson Cooper investigates the story of a fabulously wealthy American family when his book Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune comes out September 19. The book looks at the famed family as John Jacob Astor arrives from Germany in 1783, on to Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, defrauding his elderly mother a couple centuries later. It also details how the family business evolved from beaver trapping to Manhattan real estate, and how the Astor family was prominent in Gilded Age New York political and cultural life. 

Katherine Howe authored the book with Cooper. HarperCollins is the publisher. 

“The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story — of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention,” said HarperCollins. 

Cooper and Howe previously partnered on the book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Cooper’s mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. He hosts Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN and is a correspondent on 60 Minutes. 

Howe’s books include the novel The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs and the non-fiction book The Penguin Book of Witches. 

Andy Cohen interviews Cooper about the new book at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan September 20. 

Anderson Cooper interviews Prince Harry on 60 Minutes Sunday, January 8. The prince has a memoir, titled Spare, coming out January 10. Besides the book, Harry will discuss his childhood, the loss of his mother, and his life as the Duke of Sussex, both in the U.K. and now in California.

Harry is the younger son of Charles and the late Princess Diana. He’s the brother of William and his wife is Meghan Markle. Harry and Markle stepped down from the royal family in 2020 and relocated to Southern California.

Prince Harry told Cooper he’s been a victim of leaks amid the royal family. "Every single time I've tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife," he said of his conversations within the family. "You know, the family motto is never complain, never explain, but it's just a motto."

Cooper anchors Anderson Cooper 360˚ on CNN. He’s been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 2006.

60 Minutes is on CBS.

Harry and Meghan sat with Oprah Winfrey for a CBS special, Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A Primetime Special, in 2021. The telecast did a very high rating. ■

CNN rang in the New Year with the news that Anderson Cooper will have two shows on new subscription streaming service CNN Plus when it debuts in first quarter 2022.

In addition to his Anderson Cooper Full Circle moving to the new streaming platform, Cooper will host the new Parental Guidance with Anderson Cooper.

The new show will feature Cooper consulting with various experts on how to handle a job and fatherhood, from sleep schedules to screen time (Cooper has a son born in 2020).

Full Circle features stories outside Washington, including "uplifting" stories submitted by fans.

At launch CNN Plus plans to air 8 to 12 hours of live programming daily. ■

CBS Media Ventures's Jeopardy! has had a string of guest hosts this year since the death of Alex Trebek in November.

The show’s ratings started out on top at 6.2 when Ken Jennings began his six-week guest hosting stint in the week ended Jan. 17. But since Jennings’ start the long-running game show has had a bumpy ride, bottoming out at a 4.4 with LeVar Burton at the podium in the week ended Aug. 1. Burton's stint, though, was heavily impacted by the Tokyo Olympics, which pounded most syndies in the frame.

Jeopardy! has since rebounded: first with CNBC's David Faber earning a 4.5 in the week ended Aug. 8, and then second with Fox Sports' Joe Buck nabbing a 5.2 in the week ended Aug. 15. Buck's rating marked a 13-week high for the game show and a 16% jump over the previous week.

Before Burton and Faber, the game show's lowest rating came in at a 4.7 with Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Robin Roberts each earning that number during their respective turns at the podium.

Find out how the guest hosts (so far) stack up below. The most recent ratings are for the week ended Aug. 15 and are based on live plus same day national household ratings from Nielsen Media Research. It's also important to note that ratings are affected by more than the guest host. Preemptions, the Tokyo Olympics, and the slow summer season, for example, all have an impact.

Also Read: New 'Jeopardy!' Host Mike Richards Steps Down After Just 9 Days

When iconic Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek died on Nov. 8, 2020, of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, the loss came as a shock to fans around the world even though Trebek had been talking openly about his diagnosis for more than a year.  

What came next had to be handled delicately, but luckily for Jeopardy!, new-ish executive producer Mike Richards had a plan in place. By the time the show ran out of new episodes with Trebek at the podium, Richards had established a lineup of respected guest hosts to take the show into its next era, including Ken Jennings, Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Mayim Bialik, Anderson Cooper, Dr. Mehmet Oz, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton and several more.

The transition has been a fair amount of work for Richards and the team of pros at Sony Pictures Television’s long-running game show, but the process has also had its own rewards. Jeopardy! has been syndication’s top-rated game show for almost all of 2021, despite the loss of Trebek. 

Also Read: ‘Who Is the Next Jeopardy! Host?’ The Answer Awaits

In this Q&A with B+C/Multichannel News, Richards talks about why the show went with guest hosts, how he and his team got them up to speed, why he ended up behind the podium himself and what comes next for Jeopardy! as it heads into season 38.

B+C: Did you always know you were going to rely on guest hosts whenever Alex’s run ended? 

Mike Richards: Using guest hosts was always the plan. Going into even an interim host would have been difficult for the fans as well as difficult for us, the show’s production, and everyone who cared about Alex. That process needed time and it needed to have a variety of different people — fans, producers, focus groups — narrow in on all of it. What was it exactly that we wanted out of our next Jeopardy! host? We knew that we wouldn’t be able to find the next Alex Trebek, because that doesn’t exist, so what was it exactly that we were looking for?

B+C: So what were you looking for?

MR: Very early on, we came up with a list of qualities that this person should have. The list wasn’t about what they shouldn’t be, knowing that no one would check every box. We wanted them to be credible, to have a good voice, to feel like they were caring for the contestants and on the contestants’ side, and to present the show in a manner deserving of Jeopardy! It was a number of things like that, plus they needed to have a little bit of a sense of humor. 

Watch: Alex Trebek Hosting 'Jeopardy!' Through the Years

B+C: I feel like humor is one of the most important qualities to look for.

MR: I don’t know that it’s the most important. If you aren’t a great broadcaster, don’t have a great voice, aren’t a great arbiter of the game, then being funny doesn’t matter, but it definitely is an important part. I always think that a great host in some way reflects the audience and is looked at to say, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ The host’s job is to heighten the moment, increase the tension, lighten the mood — their job is to reflect the audience’s mood and heighten the experience. This is not someone who is necessarily going head to head with the contestants. It’s someone who lets the contestants shine and in letting them shine, they shine.

I grew up watching Johnny Carson; that is an important thing to look at. Alex was brilliant at it. [Alex] was never introduced as the star of Jeopardy!, he was always the host of Jeopardy! That is such a representation of the mentality of our show and of him. It’s the contestants who are the celebrities. The whole machine is built around them. 

Also Read: 'Jeopardy!' Guest Hosts' Ratings: How They Rank After 16 Weeks

B+C: There were obviously a lot of people who wanted to guest host and who lobbied to do it, such as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who just finished up his two-week run and didn’t seem like an obvious choice when you selected him. How did you handle those asks, and how did you make your choices? 

MR: Jeopardy! is maybe the toughest show on TV to host. It’s so intense and you have to think quickly on your feet. The host of Jeopardy! is the person who reads every piece of content and who calls on the person who rings in and does it in a split second. That’s so important because if you wait, the show becomes so slow. It is so intense and mentally taxing to host the show and to manage it. It really came down to who could do it. 

With Rodgers, you start to look at what I looked at with him — such as how he has been described by teammates and coaches, how does he make split-second decisions, does he stay calm, can he be coached? I also went back and watched him on Celebrity Jeopardy! and I really thought the guy could do it even though he had done barely any broadcasting.

B+C: How are you going to choose the next host and does that job fall on you? Also, was all of this just a ruse so that you could choose yourself at the end, like Dick Cheney running for vice president? 

MR: We are going to look at everyone and consider the data and analytics, testing and focus groups and ultimately who we think the correct person is in the long term. My role is not to choose the person, my role is to make everyone as great as they can be in the role. Look at how Aaron was received or how [CNN’s] Anderson [Cooper] has been received — our production and producers are doing a very good job of giving them great looks. That’s the goal: Make everyone look great. Ultimately, the team at Sony will decide what they think is the right thing for the show.

We aren’t looking for a three-year host, we’re looking for a 10-year or a 20-year host. Stability is one of the show’s strengths, so we need to consider who’s got a 20-year horizon and who can focus on the show and make it great over that time. 

As for me hosting, I was never meant to be a part of that process — I was just meant to manage — but COVID had other plans. Sony will ask me how people are in the studio and how their days on set went so I will be part of that conversation but there’s a bigger group of stakeholders who will weigh in. My job is really to make everyone really good at this. The shoot days are brutal, because teaching someone the show is intense. We give everything we can to them to let them shine and then we serve it up. 

B+C: How well have people been prepared when they came in to guest host?  

MR: People have approached this in many different ways. Some have barely watched the show and then come in and worked hard on rehearsal day. Then there are people who watched hours and hours of tape and went back and looked at things. It’s been very different how people have prepared. I have had all different levels of questions.

What has been common to everyone is that there is a humility that no matter what you’ve done before, when you walk in that door and stand behind that lectern, you are stepping into something incredibly difficult. No one has been in any way arrogant about it. These are all very successful people — they have moderated presidential debates, interviewed world leaders, won Super Bowls — and hosting this game has humbled all of them. It’s a real testament to the brand and to what Alex did. Every single host at some point in their opening monologue has said this is so much harder than I realized.

B+C: Michael Gelman, longtime executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan, has been through this guest-host process two times and both times the search has resulted in higher ratings for Live. Did you talk to him at all about how to do this? 

MR: I did call Michael Gelman and we did talk this through. He is the best and even though I had never talked to him before I thought, ‘I don’t have to think this through on my own, why don’t I give him a call?’ 

We were on the phone for an hour and he was like, ‘Here are the upsides and the downsides.’ The best part of the guest-host process is that the audience isn’t seeing them for the first time when you announce the final host so it’s not a complete shock to the system. That’s important psychologically to the audience, especially because some people are going to be upset no matter who you pick.

Gelman also said, ‘You are going to get bad press, so you have to be ready for it.’ And then it dies down, and the fans come back. Also, whoever you pick will get beat up, it doesn’t matter who it is, so that person has to be resilient. That was what happened to Drew Carey on The Price Is Right. He got destroyed for years and then at some point, everyone looked up and was like, ‘Oh Drew Carey, I really like that guy.’ That’s exactly what will happen here. 

B+C: Will you have a permanent host in place by the time season 38 premieres or do you plan to have guest hosts next season as well?

MR: By the end of July or early August, we will have a permanent host in place. Some of the episodes won’t have aired before we make this decision, but we’ve already been doing lots of research on all of the guest hosts. 

Jeopardy! is adding TV doctors Mehmet Oz and Sanjay Gupta and TV journalists CNN’s Anderson Cooper and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie to its roster of guest hosts, Executive Producer Mike Richards said Tuesday. 

As a part of each celebrity’s appearances a donation will be made to the charity of their choice by the Sony Pictures Television-produced game show that will match the cumulative winnings of the contests that compete during the weeks they guest host.

“We look forward to each guest host bringing their unique abilities to the show and to our contestants winning a lot of money that we can match for charity,” Richards said. 

Also Read: Syndication Ratings: 'Jeopardy!' Stays on Top with Ken Jennings at the Wheel

The first two weeks of Jeopardy! without originating host Alex Trebek, who died Nov. 8 of pancreatic cancer, were hosted by Greatest (Player) of All Time and consulting producer Ken Jennings, with both weeks with Jennings at the podium leading Jeopardy! to the top of syndication's household ratings chart.

Richards is currently doing hosting duties. Next up to bat are Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker and Mayim Bialik 

Also Read: Jeopardy! Welcomes Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker, Mayim Bialik as Guest Hosts

Oz hosts Sony Pictures Television’s The Dr. Oz Show and is an attending physician at NY Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center where he still performs heart surgery. He authors a syndicated newspaper column in 175 markets internationally and has written eight New York Times best-selling books, including his most recent, Food Can Fix It.

CNN anchor Cooper is a frequent competitor in Jeopardy!’s Power Players Tournament. Besides anchoring Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN and Anderson Cooper Full Circle on CNN’s digital properties, he is a regular correspondent for CBS’ Sunday night news magazine 60 Minutes and a New York Times best-selling author.

Also Read: Remembering 'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek

Guthrie co-anchors NBC’s Today and also serves as NBC News’ chief legal correspondent. She’s also a New York Times best-selling author for her book Princesses Wear Pants and the sequel Princesses Save the World.

Gupta is CNN’s chief medical correspondent as well as an associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University and the associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Gupta also contributes to 60 Minutes and serves as an executive producer for HBO’s documentary unit. His fourth book, Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, is a New York Times best-seller.

Additional guest hosts and the charities for which they are hosting will be announced later.

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen co-host CNN’s New Year’s Eve from Times Square in New York. The telecast begins at 8 p.m. ET and the duo hands over to Brooke Baldwin and Don Lemon at 12:30 a.m. as the Central Time Zone prepares for the new year. 

The Times Square event will be closed to the public due to COVID.  

John Mayer, Snoop Dogg, Patti Labelle, Jimmy Buffett, Carole Baskin, Josh Groban, Leslie Jordan, Dulce Sloan, Desus & Mero, Kylie Minogue, Aloe Blacc, Goo Goo Dolls and Jon Bon Jovi will perform on the CNN stage.

Cooper is anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°. Cohen hosts Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Bravo. The pair also hosted New Year's on CNN last year. 

From CNN, Ana Cabrera, Stephanie Elam, Randi Kaye, Richard Quest, Gary Tuchman and Bill Weir will report from locations around the world.

Anderson Cooper and HLN's Robin Meade will host a one-hour CNN special showcasing five of 2014's Extraordinary People on Dec. 16 at 9 p.m., the network announced today. 

From an Ebola nurse and an NBA MVP to the efforts of a Highway Patrol who strived to bring peace to Ferguson, Missouri, Extraordinary People will touch on a range of efforts. 

Through events of the year as well as personal stories, the special will also include CNN Anchor Don Lemon and CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

The Five Extraordinary People Include:

Kevin Vickers: Canada's Sergeant-at-Arms

Capt. Ron Johnson: Missouri State Highway Patrol

Fatu Kekula: Nursing Student

Gary Dahlen: Veteran Helicopter Pilot

Kevin Durant: NBA Player - Oklahoma City Thunder 

Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin are set to host CNN's eighth New Year's Eve special from 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, the network announced today.

New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin will feature CNN correspondents reporting celebrations from all over the country and around the world.

Cooper's special, All the Best, All the Worst2014 will air before at 8 p.m., where host Tom Foreman will countdown with 2014 highlights.

CNN will develop a live webcast for high school students surrounding its Dec. 11 documentary Dinosaur 13, the network said Monday.

CNN will team with Scholastic to develop the webcast, which will run Dec. 5 and will be moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. The webcast will feature an in-depth panel discussion of the recent Tyrannosaurus rex discovery that will be profiled in CNN’s Dinosaur 13 documentary special, said network officials.

Dinosaur 13 director Todd Miller along with paleontologist Peter Larson and National Park Service paleontologist Vincent Santucci will sit on the Dinosaur 13: A Live Webcast panel, for which teachers can register at www.scholastic.com/dinosaur13.

“We all grow up fascinated by dinosaurs and I still am, so I’m really excited to be a part of this webcast,” said Cooper in a statement. “I hope this film inspires kids everywhere to explore and learn about the world around them.”

CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is set to kick off this year's hero with two presentations hosted by Anderson Cooper, Stars and Stripes Unite and Rescuing the Rivers, the network announced today.

Anderson Cooper goes behind the scenes with Kid Rock, Gary Sinise and Kathy Griffin, as they discuss their personal support and journeys with the troops, through sit-downs and performances, in Stars and Stripes Unite. The special airs Nov. 7 at 10 p.m.

Last year's Hero of the Year, Chad Pregracke, will be honored in Rescuing the Rivers on Dec. 5 at 10 p.m., as he explains his cleanup operation along the Mississippi River and American waterways. Pregracke's efforts have removed eight million pounds of garbage over the past 17 years, earning him the 2013 Hero title.

The event will finish with CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m., which will recognize individuals making tremendous efforts to help others.