Have I Got News for You Season 3 Cast, Premiere Date, Plot & All Details Revealed

As the 2024 election cycle reaches its fever pitch and the world’s headlines get more absurd by the minute, Have I Got News for You returns as the essential weekly tonic of satire and sanity. Hosted by the masterfully deadpan Roy Wood Jr., with Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black reigning as the quickest-witted team captains on television, the show dissects the week’s events with a blend of sharp political insight and gloriously silly humor. No politician, celebrity, or bizarre cultural trend is safe from the panel’s relentless mockery.

This season leans into its new American home, tackling the unique chaos of U.S. politics with a fresh perspective, while still keeping a gleeful eye on global folly. The combination of Wood Jr.’s impeccable timing, Ruffin’s joyful absurdity, and Black’s dry, cerebral cynicism creates a comedic alchemy that is both intellectually stimulating and laugh-out-loud funny. It’s the smartest comedy show about the dumbest news, proving that in a world gone mad, laughter isn’t just the best medicine—it’s a vital form of resistance.

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Have I Got News for You Season 3 Cast and characters

1. Roy Wood Jr. as Host

Roy Wood Jr. has fully cemented his status as the show’s impeccable ringmaster, a role he was born to play. His hosting style is a masterclass in controlled chaos: he steers the conversation with the steady hand of a late-night news anchor, but his eyes constantly betray the delight of a comedian waiting to pounce on a panelist’s misguided take. Wood Jr.’s genius lies in his ability to deliver a scathing political jab and a perfectly silly pun with the same level of committed gravitas.

Beyond the jokes, Wood Jr. brings a profound depth of knowledge from his years as a Daily Show correspondent. He doesn’t just tell jokes about the news; he frames the conversation, challenges his panelists, and ensures that even the most surreal tangents somehow circle back to a pointed commentary on the state of the world. He is the show’s sharp, steady, and hilarious conscience.

2. Amber Ruffin as Team Captain

Amber Ruffin is a perpetual motion machine of joy and inventive comedy, making her the perfect counterbalance to the week’s grim headlines. As a team captain, she operates on pure, unadulterated glee, breaking into original songs, crafting elaborate hypothetical scenarios, and deploying a uniquely optimistic brand of mockery that disarms everyone in the room. Her laughter is infectious, and her ability to find the funny in even the darkest news story is a superpower.

Ruffin’s presence ensures the show never becomes a cynical slog. Her comedy, often derived from a place of heartfelt exasperation, represents the audience’s desire to not just rage at the news, but to find a way to laugh through the pain. She is the show’s heart, its most unpredictable element, and its secret weapon.

3. Michael Ian Black as Team Captain

Michael Ian Black is the show’s master of dry, arch, and brilliantly pessimistic wit. As the opposing captain, he serves as the perfect foil to Ruffin’s sunniness, viewing the world’s folly through a lens of weary, intellectual disdain. His delivery—slow, measured, and dripping with sarcasm—makes every punchline land with devastating precision. He is the embodiment of the raised eyebrow.

Black’s humor is deeply cerebral, often relying on historical context, literary references, and a deep understanding of human hypocrisy. He represents the part of the audience that can only process the overwhelming absurdity of modern life with a deep sigh and a perfectly crafted, withering one-liner. His rivalry with Ruffin is the comedic spine of the entire series.

4. Bomani Jones as Guest Panelist

Bomani Jones brings the sharp, analytical mind of a top-tier sports and culture commentator to the panel. Jones doesn’t just joke about the news; he deconstructs it, explaining the underlying systems and incentives that led to the week’s madness with a clarity that is as enlightening as it is hilarious. His arguments are so well-reasoned that they often leave the opposing team with nothing to do but nod in agreement.

Jones’s appearances are a masterclass in using sports as a metaphor for all of life’s failures and triumphs. He can pivot from breaking down a political scandal with the same rigor he applies to an NBA trade rumor, making him one of the most versatile and insightful voices on the show.

New Episodes: September 6, 2025 | HBO Max (Streaming) & CNN (Linear).

5. Andy Richter as Guest Panelist

Andy Richter is the beloved everyman and veteran sidekick, whose superpower is his relatable, Midwestern bewilderment at the world’s insanity. He approaches each news story with the curiosity of a friendly neighbor peering over a fence, asking the questions we all have and reacting with the perfect mix of shock and bemusement. His improv background makes him a master of the quick, absurdist tag that elevates any joke.

Richter provides crucial grounding. In a show filled with comedians trying to out-smart each other, Andy’s humor is deceptively simple and always rooted in heart. He’s the audience surrogate, reminding everyone that at its core, the news is just a bunch of people behaving very, very strangely.

6. Sam Jay as Guest Panelist

Sam Jay brings a raw, unfiltered, and brutally honest perspective straight from the stand-up stage. Her comedy is fearless and boundary-pushing, often going places other panelists wouldn’t dare. She tackles controversial topics with a unique point of view that is both street-smart and philosophically deep, challenging the show’s conventions and forcing everyone to up their game.

Jay’s energy is combustible and unpredictable. She doesn’t just participate in the debate; she often reframes it entirely, offering a fresh and necessary angle that cuts through the usual political talking points and gets to the hilarious, uncomfortable truth.

7. Alex Edelman as Guest Panelist

Alex Edelman is a whirlwind of intellectual energy and masterful joke-writing. His comedy is a rapid-fire barrage of meticulously crafted one-liners, historical deep cuts, and self-deprecating anecdotes that somehow always tie back to the week’s news. His boyish enthusiasm is irresistible, making even the most complex punchlines feel like a shared discovery.

Edelman’s segments are like watching a brilliant academic give a TED Talk that’s been hijacked by a world-class comedian. His ability to find humor in the most niche corners of the news cycle makes him a recurring fan favorite and a formidable competitor on any team.

8. Jenny Hagel as Guest Panelist

As a longtime writer and performer for Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jenny Hagel is a specialist in political satire and impression-based comedy. Her contributions are sharp, focused, and often include a perfectly timed impression of a newsmaker that leaves the panel in stitches. She brings a writer’s precision to her off-the-cuff remarks.

Hagel’s strength is her ability to dismantle a hypocritical argument with logical clarity and then immediately follow it up with a ridiculous character bit. She represents the savvy, informed viewer who consumes the news with a notepad, ready to fact-check with a joke.

9. Sam Seder as Guest Panelist

Sam Seder, from the Majority Report, is the panel’s resident political philosopher and leftist agitator. His appearances are less about telling jokes and more about delivering a five-minute dissertations on the failures of capitalism or foreign policy, disguised as comedy. He’s the show’s ideological anchor, pushing conversations into deeper, more substantive territory.

Seder’s value is in his unwavering commitment to his principles. He refuses to let a bad take go unchallenged, turning the panel into a real, albeit hilarious, debate. He ensures that the laughter never comes at the expense of the facts.