Is anyone else completely baffled by the AT&T/Time Warner deal? I keep reading that people say it’s purely a content/distribution deal but then the next news articles says it will absolutely affect our cable and satellite packages. All I know is most subscribers are nervous about it. One person who is excited is Reese Witherspoon who has successfully turned her production company, Hello Sunshine, into a real power player within the industry. Reese, who is supposedly still set to star with Jennifer Aniston in Apple’s first series, has just announced she will host a weekly chat show for AT&T called Shine on With Reese. True to her mission with Hello Sunshine, the show will focus on driven and ambitious women and their path to success.

Reese Witherspoon is entering the unscripted territory with a new interview show for AT&T, the company announced on Tuesday.

Witherspoon is the host of “Shine on With Reese,” a weekly interview show examining the stories of trailblazing women. Among the guests set to appear are singers Dolly Parton, Pink and Kacey Musgraves; Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson; poet Cleo Wade; “Superstore” actress America Ferrara; and author/activist Glennon Doyle.

“I am thrilled to have such like-minded, creative collaborators at AT&T to help Hello Sunshine pursue our mission of elevating and showcasing the voices of women that we have such admiration and respect for,” Witherspoon said in a statement. “I am so excited for the world to experience the stories from our partnership with AT&T, which are set to be equal parts entertaining, inspiring, thought-provoking and unabashedly real.”

“AT&T was one of our first partners in the quest to bring female-centric storytelling to the forefront and we are especially proud of how these original series push that mission ahead,” said Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden. “We’re looking forward to working with AT&T to develop more opportunities for women to see themselves and their stories reflected in entertainment.”

[From The Wrap]

According to the article, the show will air on a brand new, on-demand channel that will be women-centric and fly under the Hello Sunshine banner. I don’t know, I find the idea of a major media house fully endorsing women-centric content among their first big announcements kind of exciting. It might be a baby step, but at least it’s one in the right direction.

In the interest of optimism, which is in sparse supply these days, I won’t start nitpicking this idea… not too much, at least. Looking at the guest sampling listed, aside from America and Cleo, it’s pretty monochromatic. But, it is only a sampling. I really hope this has a true cross section of all women. On a completely personal note, I like Reese as an actress, but I don’t find her interesting in interviews. I’m having trouble getting excited about her as an interview host. It a skill that not many people have. I hope she has Oprah on speed dial.

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