Per CNN Business’s Brian Stelter, sources at MSNBC confirm Rachel Maddow will end her 5 nights a week show by Spring 2022. She’ll go to once a week or do specials instead.
The daily edition of 'The Rachel Maddow Show' is coming to an end. So who will replace her?
In addition, 11 p.m. newsman Brian Williams may be leaving his program "The 11th Hour." Williams' contract will expire in the next six months and he wants to move off the late-night hour, three people familiar with the matter said.
So, Brian Williams is also looking to step down from The 11th Hour.
MSNBC's even-numbered hours seem to be stable. The 8 p.m. host Chris Hayes signed a contract extension last year and the 10 p.m. host Lawrence O'Donnell signed an extension earlier this year, so both men have multi-year agreements.
The 9 and 11 p.m. hours are the two big puzzle pieces. MSNBC staffers are abuzz, since prime time changes are relatively rare across the cable news landscape.
CNN Business reported earlier this week that the five-day-a-week version of her show will come to an end in 2022. She will still appear on MSNBC, but far less often.
While some sources insisted that the specifics have not been determined yet, two other sources said that the transition will happen next spring.
There are details about Rachel’s new deal with MSNBC from Stelter’s sources there which you can click on the link to read.
I know it’s inappropriate and against the rules to quote the entire article here so I’m limiting my quotes to essential highlights. Again, please click on the link to read the full article for all the details.
Where it gets interesting is who sources at MSNBC say is in the mix for taking over for Maddow and Williams…
The list would start with the people who fill in for Maddow: Nicolle Wallace, Ali Velshi and Ari Melber. All three are very well-liked by MSNBC viewers.
Wallace helms the 4 and 5 p.m. hours and appears on special event coverage. In the past she has resisted management's suggestions to move her later in the day, sources said, because she prioritizes time in the evenings with her son.
Melber anchors the 6 p.m. hour and serves as MSNBC's chief legal correspondent. He typically posts some of the channel's highest ratings outside prime time.
Velshi anchors on the weekends and fills in across the weekday prime time schedule, like a Swiss Army Knife. Some insiders speculated that he would be in line for 11 p.m. if Williams leaves that time slot.
- Wallace is out as she doesn’t want to work late nights and be away from her son. I’m disappointed, but totally understand her need to put her child first.
- I had no idea Melber gets some of MSNBC’s highest ratings.
- Velshi taking over The 11th Hour from Brian Williams would be a great idea. I can’t stand Williams and Velshi taking that over would get me to add that show to my DVR.
This is the part I found pleasantly surprising…
The executives may go in a different direction altogether at 9 p.m. They may decide to move a host from earlier in the day, like Joy Reid, who became the 7 p.m. host one year ago. Or they may look to poach from the outside, though there is no obvious option.
Sadly, Jonathan Capeheart and Zerlina Maxwell are not mentioned by Stelter’s sources. But Joy Reid is and I would very pleased with that choice. Also, it is my humble opinion that I would love to see Rashida Jones promoting more women of color as anchors on MSNBC. I already DVR Joy’s show every night and moving her to Rachel’s slot would be close to ideal for me personally (though Capeheart would be my ideal first choice).
The article ends by saying the network’s night time lineup will look very different by Spring 2022 which I take to mean Maddow and Williams stepping down will happen in March or April of next year. The big question being, does Rachel switch to only doing specials immediately or does she just cut back to a once-a-week show?
I really do not want it to be Melber because then it turns MSNBC evening programming into 3 continuous hours of straight white men over 40.
I know that no one can truly replace Rachel. No one on any network does the kind of thorough and rigorous research in tremendous detail like she and her team do so very effectively. But for my money, the best solution would be Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, Lawrence O’Donnell and Ali Velshi.