Radio 4 pilots US version of News Quiz

BBC Radio 4 is piloting a US version of its topical satirical show The News Quiz, recorded in New York with a panel of American comedians taking aim at the Republican primary elections. The BBC is examining ways of tailoring the satire for broadcast in the US and Radio 4 will air a pilot of the American version as part of its coverage of this year's US presidential election. News Quiz USA will air on Radio 4 on 22 March, fronted by Daily Show contributor Lewis Black. It duplicates the format of the British version, which is chaired by Sandi Toksvig and features regular panellists such as Jeremy Hardy and Andy Hamilton commenting sardonically on the news. The panellists will be satirist and comedy writer Andy Borowitz, veteran stand-up and journalist Kathleen Madigan, comedian Ted Alexandro and another unconfirmed guest. If the pilot, due to be recorded towards the end of March, is successful, it could be developed into a full series for later in this US presidential election year. The pilot – and the full series, if it is made – may also be made available in America as a podcast. BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, is also eyeing up potential broadcasters who may want to buy the US version of the programme or to co-produce a new series. One company that has held talks with the BBC over developing it in the US is the audio publishers AudioGo. The company's publishing director Jan Paterson told the Guardian: "We are very keen to work on the News Quiz for the American market." The most likely US home for The News Quiz would be NPR, a network of nearly 1,000 public service stations that is the nearest radio equivalent to the BBC in America. Caroline Raphael, Radio 4's commissioning editor for comedy and entertainment, said: "This is the first time a US version has been made of one of our flagship Radio 4 comedy programmes. We hope it will give Radio 4 listeners a slightly different take on the US elections and complement Radio 4's other stateside election coverage." The News Quiz first aired on Radio 4 in 1977 with Barry Norman as chair and is thought to have inspired the BBC1 panel show Have I Got News for You?