MSNBC's New Weekend Primetime Quartet Has Already Started a Conversation
MSNBC's new Saturday and Sunday primetime panel, 'The Weekend,' won't kick off until later this month, but the show's four hosts just got their first chance to chew over their plans.
At first glance, Ayman Mohyeldin, Elise Jordan, Catherine Rampell and Antonia Hylton don't seem to have too much in common. Each has a distinctive background that is unlike the others. Hylton gained traction working for upstart news outlets including Mic and Vice.com before joining NBCUniversal. Rampell has made a name for herself not only for economic analysis at The Washington Post but also as a frequent talk-show contributor to everything from CNN's 'News Night' to HBO's 'Real Time.' Mohyeldin first began to emerge at NBC News delivering reports last decade from the Middle East. And Jordan has worked for Senator Rand Paul and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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'We all bring something a little bit different' to the mix, says Rampell, during a recent interview that marked the quartet's first official gathering since the show's line-up of hosts was announced. 'We all have different specialties, and you'll see those flavors' when the program launches.
MSNBC is betting heavily on multi-host panels such as these. Rebecca Kutler, who was named to lead the progressive-leaning news outlet earlier this year, has assembled three different blends of analysts, journalists and experts and will use them for many of MSNBC's weekend hours as well as at 7 p.m. on weekdays. The aforementioned ensemble will be stationed in primetime on Saturdays and Sundays. Meanwhile, Jonathan Capehart, Eugene Daniels and Jackie Alemany will gather on weekend mornings, and Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend will anchor MSNBC's early-evening slot, which is meant to gather viewers for primetime.
MSNBC is expanding its use of panel shows in tandem with its two main competitors. At Fox News Channel, the roundtable program 'The Five' is typically the most-watched hour on the schedule, and the network's grid also has room for 'The Big Weekend Show' and 'Outnumbered.' CNN has gained some traction with the 10 p.m. panel program 'NewsNight,' anchored by Abby Phillip.
Mohyehldin says there's an opportunity in weekend prime, where he has been leading a show as a solo anchor for MSNBC since 2021. 'I've come to realize that the people who watch on Saturday and Sunday nights are very dedicated viewers. There are people who really are passionate and care about this country and what's happening around the world,' he says. 'We know that there are millions of things that people can be doing on Saturday and Sunday night.'
All four of the co-anchors believe they will have room to offer viewers a deeper conversation, because they will have three hours to fill each weekend evening. 'I hope we can be the people who bring our viewers' context about stories that have developed during the week, says Hylton, and help the audience 'make sense' of what they've been following, There could also be room for levity, she says. 'Everything can't be that our lives are over and our country is crumbling. We can remind people of the good that's out there, and I hope we are part of that, too.'
And while each member of the group holds a different place in the spectrum of opinion, they all have hope of avoiding some of the 'hot talk' for which the panel format is famous. 'An interesting dinner table conversation that's not personally offensive is the goal,' says Jordan. 'We shouldn't all be in agreement all the time. That's not interesting. Nobody learns anything from that,' she adds, but the hope is for 'civil disagreements, but I think from a place of mutual respect.'
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