Piers Morgan's first guest on his new CNN show will be Oprah Winfrey.
The talk show host announced his choice at Thursday's presentation to the Television Critics Associaton. He said the interview was originally expected to last 45 minutes but stretched to two hours. It will be cut to fit one hour when the show debuts Jan. 17 at 9 p.m.
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"Everyone's interviewed Oprah over the years. She's a fabulous interview. Is my interview as good as any one she's done before? She thought so," Morgan said. "I guarantee you're going to enjoy that interview."
Morgan replaces Larry King, who left "Larry King Live" last month amid struggling ratings after 25 years. He said he won't hew to King's preference for live interviews, and plans to instead tape shows in advance and parcel out clips to build up interest.
He also doesn't want his show to be too serious: "I don't see it as a serious broadcast. I mean it will be serious occasionally," he said. "There is room for fun in the world."
Morgan said Winfrey would meet his "three Fs" criteria for interviews: "Fabulous, fun, fascinating — hopefully all three."
Morgan also said he will announce more of his first week's guest next week.