Created by Part2 Pictures Composer(s) Mike Shinoda No. of seasons 3 | Presented by Lisa Ling Country of origin United States No. of episodes 24 (list of episodes) | |
This Is Life with Lisa Ling is a CNN original documentary television series produced by Brooklyn-based production company Part2 Pictures and American journalist Lisa Ling, who is also the show’s host. The program was announced on April 14, 2014, and its first season premiered September 28, 2014.
Contents
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 CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Network, from which she brought producer Amy Bucher of Part2 Pictures to work on This Is Life. The two have worked together for six years.
Summary
In the investigative series, former The View host Lisa Ling travels across the country in search of “ordinary people with extraordinary lives". Ling explores unusual and sometimes dangerous cultures and communities on the show. The premier 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 season, Ling will delve into profound topics like drug abuse in Utah’s Mormon community and the gay rodeo scene. The music to the season was given by Mike Shinoda of American rock band Linkin Park.
The series is largely a continuation of Ling's prior documentary series, Our America with Lisa Ling, which ran for five seasons until 2014 on OWN.
Reception
This is Life is one of 12 anticipated nonfiction series to air on CNN, amid its typical daily newscasts, in 2015. The influx of these original primetime shows is part of a new initiative to “help CNN reduce its dependence on the network’s traditional format,” according to a Variety article. Other nonfiction series occupying primetime slots on CNN include Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown and a new series featuring the Discovery Channel’s Mike Rowe.
The show has received some criticism, such as from The Wrap, for being similar in concept to Lisa Ling’s previous show, Our America. However, Ling told the Huffington Post that This is Life will be “edgier” and “much more in your face” than the last series, which aired on OWN.