This Is Life with Lisa Ling

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.

This is Life with Lisa Ling
Created by	Part2 Pictures
Presented by	Lisa Ling
Composer(s)	Mike Shinoda
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	46 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	CNN
Picture format	16:9 HDTV
Original release	September 28, 2014
Chronology
Related shows	Our America with Lisa Ling
External links
Website

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.[1]

Summary

In the investigative series, award-winning journalist and former The View host Lisa Ling goes on a gritty, breathtaking journey to far corners of America.[2] The premier episode features Ling investigating the world of “sugaring” and opening up about her own relationship experience being a self-proclaimed sugar baby.[3] 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 composed by Mike Shinoda of American rock band Linkin Park.[4]

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.

Background

This is Life was one of 12 anticipated nonfiction series to air on CNN, amid its typical daily newscasts, in 2015.[5] 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 a 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.[6]

Celebrity writer Greg Gilman,[2] has speculated that Ling's new show may be 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.[7]

Episodes

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	8		September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)	November 16, 2014 (2014-11-16)
	2	8		September 30, 2015 (2015-09-30)	December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13)
	3	8		September 25, 2016 (2016-09-25)	November 27, 2016 (2016-11-27)
	4	8		October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)	November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)
	5	8		September 23, 2018 (2018-09-23)	November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18)
	6	8		September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)	November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)

Season 1 (2014)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	1	"Sugar Daddies, Sugar Babies"	September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)	0.59[8]
2	2	"Unholy Addiction"	October 5, 2014 (2014-10-05)	0.50[8]
3	3	"The Genius Experiment"	October 12, 2014 (2014-10-12)	0.60[8]
4	4	"Filthy Rich"	October 19, 2014 (2014-10-19)	0.66[8]
5	5	"Jungle Fix"	October 26, 2014 (2014-10-26)	N/A
6	6	"Road Strip"	November 2, 2014 (2014-11-02)	N/A
7	7	"Gay Rodeo"	November 9, 2014 (2014-11-09)	N/A
8	8	"Called to the Collar"	November 16, 2014 (2014-11-16)	N/A

Season 2 (2015)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
9	1	"Children of the Prophet"	September 30, 2015 (2015-09-30)	0.72[9]
Lisa talks with people who have survived FLDS Church including talking with two adults (4th child Becky aka Rebecca and younger brother Roy Jeffs) who were sexually abused by their father, "prophet" Warren Jeffs (now sentenced to life in prison), who abused Becky starting when she was probably 4-6 years-old[10] and Roy's first memory of abuse was when he was about 4 or 5 years-old.[11] Lisa also interviews two members (Ruth Olson and Tonia Tewell) of Holding Out Help, a non-profit providing "those who come from a polygamous culture the resources needed to transition from isolation to independence."[12]
10	2	"Inside Mongol Nation"	October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07)	0.70[13]
11	3	"Fatherless Towns"	October 21, 2015 (2015-10-21)	0.46[14]
12	4	"Faces That Sell"	October 28, 2015 (2015-10-28)	0.44[15]
13	5	"Electronic Woodstock"	November 4, 2015 (2015-11-04)	0.44[16]
14	6	"America's Busiest Coroners"	November 11, 2015 (2015-11-11)	0.59[17]
15	7	"The Seduction Game"	December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09)	0.66[18]
16	8	"The Satanist Next Door"	December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13)	0.42[19]

Season 3 (2016)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
17	1	"Locked Angeles"	September 25, 2016 (2016-09-25)	0.71[20]
18	2	"Women Who Fight"	October 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)	0.47[21]
19	3	"The Black and White of Heroin"	October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16)	0.73[22]
20	4	"21st Century Brothels"	October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)	0.83[23]
21	5	"Silicon Valley Savants"	October 30, 2016 (2016-10-30)	0.48[24]
22	6	"Wired Philly"	November 13, 2016 (2016-11-13)	0.49[25]
23	7	"Sins of the Father"	November 20, 2016 (2016-11-20)	0.49[26]
24	8	"Prison Love"	November 27, 2016 (2016-11-27)	0.46[27]

Season 4 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
25	1	"Sexual Healing"	October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)	0.63[28]
26	2	"Chinese in America"	October 8, 2017 (2017-10-08)	0.73[29]
27	3	"Age of Consent"	October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)	0.58[30]
28	4	"Patriot Movement"	October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)	0.62[31]
29	5	"America's First Muslims"	October 29, 2017 (2017-10-29)	0.61[32]
30	6	"Modern Love"	November 5, 2017 (2017-11-05)	0.72[33]
31	7	"Lost Vegas"	November 19, 2017 (2017-11-19)	0.80[34]
32	8	"Transbeauty"	November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)	N/A

Season 5 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
33	1	"The Myth of MS-13"	September 23, 2018 (2018-09-23)	0.82[35]
34	2	"The Meth Crossroads"	September 30, 2018 (2018-09-30)	0.68[36]
35	3	"Gender Fluidity"	October 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)	0.54[37]
36	4	"Screen Addiction"	October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14)	0.62[38]
37	5	"Children of Killers"	October 21, 2018 (2018-10-21)	0.77[39]
38	6	"The Mediums of Lily Dale"	October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)	0.57[40]
39	7	"The Dad Dilemma"	November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)	0.50[41]
40	8	"Furry Nation"	November 18, 2018 (2018-11-18)	0.49[42]

Season 6 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
41	1	"Porn Ed"	September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)	0.58[43]
42	2	"The Benzos Crisis"	October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06)	0.56[44]
43	3	"A Few Good Women"	October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13)	0.47[45]
44	4	"Mississippi Gangland"	October 20, 2019 (2019-10-20)	0.52[46]
45	5	"Twinning"	October 27, 2019 (2019-10-27)	0.69[47]
46	6	"When Women Kill"	November 3, 2019 (2019-11-03)	0.50[48]
47	7	"Swingers"	November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)	0.64[49]
48	8	"Fighting Terror in NYC"	November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)	0.61[50]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result
2017	Gracie Awards	Outstanding Non-Fiction or Reality Show	Won

References

1. Glamour Magazine. "CNN This Is Life Host Lisa Ling Will Eat Anything Anthony Bourdain Eats: Glamour.com". glamour.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
2. "CNN Launching Lisa Ling Documentary Series 'This Is Life' - TheWrap". thewrap.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
3. "Lisa Ling: The dangerous seduction of a rich boyfriend - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
4. Mike Shinoda Contributes Music for "This is Life with Lisa Ling" MikeShinodaClan September 25th, 2014.
5. "Advertisement". variety.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
6. "CNN puts greater emphasis on original series in primetime - Chicago Tribune". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
7. "Lisa Ling: 'I Think I Have Bigger Balls Than Most Guys'". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
8. "Lisa Ling's 'This Is Life' Latest CNN Show Pushing Network Definition To Early Viewer Approval". Yahoo TV. October 22, 2014.
9. Metcalfe, Mitch. "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 100 Wednesday Cable Originals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
10. episode Children of the Prophet, 6minutes into episode. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
11. episode Children of the Prophet, 13 minutes into episode (TV broadcast version). Retrieved October 7, 2019.
12. About Us - Holding Out HELP - Providing Care For Leaving Polygamy. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
13. Metcalfe, Mitch. "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 100 Wednesday Cable Originals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
14. Metcalfe, Mitch. "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 100 Wednesday Cable Originals (Comments)". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
15. Metcalfe, Mitch. "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 100 Wednesday Cable Originals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
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18. Metcalfe, Mitch. "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
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20. Metcalf, Mitch (September 27, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.25.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
21. Metcalf, Mitch (October 4, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.2.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
22. Metcalf, Mitch (October 18, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.16.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
23. Metcalf, Mitch (October 25, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.23.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
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27. Metcalf, Mitch (November 30, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.20.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
28. Metcalf, Mitch (October 3, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
29. Metcalf, Mitch (October 10, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
30. Metcalf, Mitch (October 17, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
31. Metcalf, Mitch (October 24, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
32. Metcalf, Mitch (October 31, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
33. Metcalf, Mitch (November 7, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
34. Metcalf, Mitch (November 21, 2017). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
35. Metcalf, Mitch (September 25, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
36. Metcalf, Mitch (October 2, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
37. Metcalf, Mitch (October 9, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
38. Metcalf, Mitch (October 16, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
39. Metcalf, Mitch (October 23, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
40. Metcalf, Mitch (October 30, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
41. Metcalf, Mitch (November 13, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
42. Metcalf, Mitch (November 20, 2018). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
43. Metcalf, Mitch (October 1, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
44. Metcalf, Mitch (October 8, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
45. Metcalf, Mitch (October 15, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
46. Metcalf, Mitch (October 22, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
47. Metcalf, Mitch (October 29, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
48. Metcalf, Mitch (November 5, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
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50. Metcalf, Mitch (November 19, 2019). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved December 1, 2019.

External links

• "This is Life with Lisa Ling - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
• This Is Life with Lisa Ling at TV Guide
• "Part 2 Pictures". part2pictures.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.