''This Is Life with Lisa Ling'' is a

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

original

documentary television Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

series produced by Brooklyn-based production company

Part2 Pictures Part2 Pictures is an American production company that launched in 2007 in Brooklyn, New York. It is known for projects including (U.S. TV channel) CNN’s ''This Is Life with Lisa Ling,'' '' Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi'' for Hulu, the se ...

and American journalist

Lisa Ling Lisa J. Ling (born August 30, 1973) is an American journalist, television personality, and author. She is currently the host of '' This Is Life with Lisa Ling '' on CNN. Previously, she was a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host on the ABC da ...

, who is also the show's host. The program was announced on April 14, 2014, and its first season premiered on September 28, 2014. On October 27, 2020, it was announced that the seventh season would premiere on November 29, 2020. Season eight premiered on October 10, 2021. It was announced that the ninth season would be its last.

Host

Lisa Ling is a writer, journalist, and former co-host of ABC's '' The View'' (1999–2002). She has been a special correspondent for

and the Oprah Winfrey Network, from which she brought producer Amy Bucher of Part2 Pictures to work on ''This Is Life''.

Summary

In the investigative docuseries, the host Lisa Ling goes on a journey to the far corners of America. The premiere episode features Ling investigating the world of "sugaring" and opening up about her own relationship experience being a self-proclaimed sugar baby. Later in the first season, Ling delved into topics such as drug abuse in Utah's Mormon community, and the gay rodeo scene. The music for the first season was composed by

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocal ...

of the band Linkin Park."Mike Shinoda Contributes Music for 'This is Life with Lisa Ling
'' MikeShinodaClan'', September 25, 2014. The series is largely a continuation of Ling's prior documentary series, ''

Our America with Lisa Ling ''Our America with Lisa Ling'' is an American documentary television series that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network for five seasons from February 15, 2011 until July 31, 2014. Hosted by journalist Lisa Ling, each episode examines an aspect of Am ...

'', which ran for five seasons until 2014 on

OWN Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

Background

''This is Life'' was one of 12 anticipated nonfiction series to air on CNN, amid its typical daily newscasts, in 2015. The influx of these original primetime shows was part of a new initiative to "help CNN reduce its dependence on the network’s traditional format," according to
Variety article
Other nonfiction series that occupied primetime slots on CNN when her show debuted included Anthony Bourdain's '' Parts Unknown'' and a series featuring the Discovery Channel's Mike Rowe. Celebrity writer Greg Gilman speculated that This is Life would be similar in concept to Lisa Ling's previous show, ''

Our America ''Our America'' is a film based on the book ''Our America: Life And Death on the South Side of Chicago''.Harvey, Denni ''Variety'', Jan. 16, 2002, retrieved 2008-07-10 It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on American televis ...

''. However, Ling told the Huffington Post that ''This is Life'' would be "edgier" and "much more in your face" than the last series, which aired on

Episodes

Season 1 (2014)

Season 2 (2015)

Season 3 (2016)

Season 4 (2017)

Season 5 (2018)

Season 6 (2019)

Season 7 (2020)

Season 8 (2021)

Season 9 (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{CNN 2014 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings CNN original programming 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows 2010s American documentary television series 2020s American documentary television series