Channel 4 are planning to take on ‘Have I Got News For You’ with a topical new show.
A pilot episode has been commissioned for ‘News Crack’, which has been described as an "anarchic, clip-based" 30-minute show set to rival the BBC’s long-running favourite.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, the programme will look to "put a subversive twist on the week’s events" with production firm Electric Ray’s Karl Warner hinting as a "genuinely disturbed" team.
He said: "It’ll take genuinely disturbed minds to make the world look weirder than it already is."
The show has been created by Guy Davidson and Dan Clarke, who write and produce sketches and comedy mash-ups of news footage, with over 250 million hit on their videos online.
Guy said: "We’ve been in our basement making mashes for so long Dan has lost the ability to speak."
Channel 4’s Syeda Irtizaali described the concept as "very fresh" and suggested it would be a new take on the format.
She added: "This felt like a very fresh, anarchic, modern take on satirising news with some brilliant new digital talent."
Speaking earlier this year, Paul Merton – a team captain opposite Ian Hislop – reflected on ‘Have I Got News For You’ as the show celebrated the start of its 55th series, and explained the importance of not getting bored.
He previously said: "As soon as you do that, your programme is dead. I always try to have the mentality of, ‘This is the first time I’ve done this show.’
"And next week, I can’t repeat what I did this week. I’ve got to do something different. I think it helps that, among the five people sitting in the studio, three of them weren’t there the week before.
"You have the constant of me and Ian, but we can’t rely on the fact that it’s been good in the past because it has to be good now."
Channel 4 plan Have I Got News For You-style show
