MSNBC’s 9 p.m. slot, previously held by Rachel Maddow, will now be hosted by political analyst and former anchor Alex Wagner.
MSNBC President Rashida Jones broke the news in interviews with the New York Times and Variety.
According to Jones, Wagner has “got something to say.”
“She pulls in perspective. She brings in some of the context throughout her discussion,” she added. “She knows politics. She knows everything from foreign policy to culture,” Jones told Variety.
“This is not a show where our hair is on fire and we’re yelling past each other, and we’re creating these manufactured moments of tension,” she told the New York Times. “I really want the takeaway from this show to be a better understanding of what’s happening in the world.”
“It’s no secret that the audiences on cable are changing, and changing quickly,” Jones added. “It’s still a big part of the audience that consumes MSNBC, but we’ve really been focused on, how do we take that deep connection and bring it to new places?”
Wagner’s debut will be Aug. 16, and the show will run Tuesday through Friday.
She is the author of a 2018 memoir called Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging. She was also previously a co-host on Showtime’s The Circus.
