A permanent seat sat empty at America’s top-rated cable news table for months. That changes September 8, when Emily Compagno officially becomes a full-time panelist on Fox News’ “The Five.”
Network executives made the decision public Monday, with Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott delivering the announcement through an official statement.
The timing places Compagno’s debut just weeks before voters head to the polls for the 2026 midterms.
Viewers currently know Compagno from her role co-hosting “Outnumbered,” a midday Fox News program. Her move to “The Five” shifts her from an early-afternoon slot into the network’s signature 5 p.m. Eastern hour broadcast.
Three familiar faces will greet her at the roundtable: Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Jesse Watters.
The show’s liberal commentary duties remain split between Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., a rotation Fox News has opted to keep intact.
Compagno inherits a chair with a notable recent history.
Jeanine Pirro held the position until last year, when she exited the program following her appointment by President Donald Trump as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
In the months following Pirro’s departure, Fox News avoided naming a permanent replacement. Instead, the network rotated a series of guest personalities through the vacant seat while executives weighed their options.
Scott’s statement framed the hire as a reflection of the show’s cultural weight. She said “The Five” “remains a powerhouse and appointment viewing for millions of Americans.”
Turning to Compagno specifically, Scott called her “a highly accomplished host whose energy and talent have made her a standout across Fox News Media.” She added that the network is “thrilled to officially welcome her to the show.”
Ratings data underscores why the seat matters so much. “The Five” has held the number-one position in all of cable news for 19 consecutive quarters, a streak few programs in television history can match.
That dominance comes with an unusual wrinkle. The show regularly pulls in more viewers than Fox News’ own primetime lineup, despite broadcasting hours before those programs air.
The roundtable’s origins trace back to 2011. Fox News built the format as a way to showcase contributors who lacked standalone shows of their own at the time.
Over the years, the program has functioned as a proving ground for on-air talent.
Both Gutfeld and Watters used their seats at the table to launch into primetime hosting jobs, cementing the show’s reputation as a career accelerator within the network.
Fox News is not alone in preparing for the months ahead. Rival networks CNN and MS NOW are similarly gearing up to capture viewer attention as election-season interest builds nationwide.
Scott has offered her own explanation for why “The Five” resonates with audiences. Speaking to Variety back in 2019, she compared the on-air dynamic to everyday family interactions.
She described the show as capturing “how many of us live our lives — with family and friends having varying backgrounds and opinions on a wide range of topics from politics to crime and culture stories to water-cooler topics…and even if we are debating or disagreeing about something, we can end every topic laughing and feeling good.”
According to Scott, that same spirit plays out on camera. Panelists, she said, “can disagree and debate but still have fun and laugh together in the end.”
Compagno’s tenure at Fox News stretches back to 2018. Her responsibilities at the network have gone well beyond hosting duties, including work as a contributor and legal analyst.
Her presence extends across Fox’s broader media ecosystem as well. She has fronted a Fox Nation series and hosted a true-crime podcast under the Fox News banner.
Away from the anchor desk, Compagno built a career as a criminal defense attorney. She grew up in California and comes from a family with military roots.
Long before her legal or television careers took shape, Compagno held a very different title: captain of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad, a chapter of her life that preceded her entry into broadcasting.
