Arsenio Hall on the key to securing his new TV gig: "I had to host your show, for instance, to let people see me do that again"

Coming up this evening at 9 p.m., "Piers Morgan Tonight" welcomes comedian and talk show host Arsenio Hall for an enlightening and entertaining interview, during which the late-night icon reveals some exciting personal news.

Nearly two decades since his famed "The Arsenio Hall Show" came to a conclusion, today the 56-year-old announces his return to the network airwaves, as he'll begin hosting a new program in the Fall of 2013.

Earlier this year, Hall appeared on "Piers Morgan Tonight" as a guest host, an opportunity he credits with helping to create this new chapter in his career:

"I actually went to CBS, about two years ago, and told them, that I wanted to come home. And, it took a while. I had to host your show, for instance, to let people see me do that again," he says of his March 16th appearance. "You allowed me to interview Magic Johnson and Cookie Johnson, to talk about his 20 year announcement, it was a lot of fun. But it let people see me do it."

But hosting a CNN program in the 9 p.m. time slot is not the only thing Hall and Piers Morgan have in common. There's also a certain NBC series, credited with launching and re-launching more than one career:

"I went away to do 'Apprentice.' That could have been the kiss of death, because if you're fired the second week, maybe that tarnishes what you're creating, and these building blocks that you're putting in place," Hall says of the show won by "The Piers Morgan Tonight" host in 2008. "But you know what? The stars were alligned, and God was in the Board Room, because I won that thing!"

Watch the clip, and listen to the interview, then tune in this evening as the Los Angeles-based Hall reflects upon the recent death of Rodney King, and shares insight on the 1992 riots following his beating and subsequent police officer acquittals.
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