23-04-2025
MSNBC Drops 1st Promo for The Weeknight
With apologies to Loverboy, Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele, and Symone Sanders Townsend aren't working for The Weekend anymore. Starting May 5, the MSNBC trio are moving to The Weeknight-a new panel show that's taking over the 7 p.m. ET time slot formerly occupied by Joy Reid. (All times Eastern)
TVNewser has your first look at the new trailer for The Weeknight, which will feature Menendez, Steele, and Sanders-Townsend kicking around the biggest stories and issues of the day five nights a week. The Monday newscast will air in a two-hour block from 7-9 p.m., while the other four nights are a one-hour affair from 7-8 p.m.
'Discourse and conversation aren't just abstract ideas-they're active practices and Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend, and Alicia Menendez are seasoned pros,' Maritza Berta, MSNBC's vice president of marketing, tells TVNewser.
'The dynamic energy among the original anchors of the original 'Weekend' is undeniable, and in this campaign, we showcase that natural chemistry by spotlighting their most compelling moments of roundtable conversation,' Berta continues. 'There's a genuine gravitational pull between the trio-and now, primetime viewers will discover that themselves five nights a week.'
The Weeknight is part of a larger programming revamp initiated by MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler in February. Following the success of The Weekend since its January 2024 launch-the show propelled MSNBC ahead of CNN on weekend mornings with a 37% lead over its time slot rivals on that network-Menendez, Steele, and Sanders Townsend were brought into the primetime weeknight fold.
As the promo implies, all three hosts are familiar faces to MSNBC's audience. Sanders Townsend joined the network in 2022 after a stint as chief spokesperson and a senior advisor for former Vice President Kamala Harris. Steele-a former chair of the Republican National Committee-appeared frequently as a political analyst before being named co-host of The Weekend in 2023. And Menendez joined MSNBC in 2019 and previously hosted the weekend show American Voices. (Menendez is the daughter of former New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, who recently received an 11-year prison sentence after being found guilty in a federal corruption case.)
Meanwhile, the trio's former Weekend home is getting a franchise expansion. May 3 sees the dual debuts of a three hour morning edition co-hosted by Jonathan Capehart, Eugene Daniels, and Jackie Alemany from 7-10 a.m., as well as The Weekend: Primetime, a three hour evening version airing from 6-9 p.m with Ayman Mohyeldin, Antonia Hylton, Catherine Rampell, and Elise Jordan serving as co-hosts.
The Weeknight replaces the 7 p.m. placeholder MSNBC Prime, which has kept that hour warm since Reid's departure in February. The network has seen a ratings resurgence since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, at which point Rachel Maddow returned to her eponymous 9 p.m. newscast five nights a week during the administration's first 100 days.
With those 100 days nearly up, though, Maddow will shift back to a Monday-only schedule and Jen Psaki will take over the 9 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays through Fridays in place of Alex Wagner, who has since been named a senior political analyst for the network. MSNBC is also in the process of building up its independent newsgathering operation as its split from the NBCUniversal News Group to join SpinCo looms later this year.
