Rachel Maddow will return to a five-night-a-week schedule for the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s administration, bolstering the MSNBC lineup at a crucial period.
Maddow has hosted the network’s top rated show on one night each week, Mondays, since 2022, Alex Wagner anchoring the 9 p.m. ET hour Tuesdays through Fridays.
During the 100 days, Wagner will travel the country for a series of reports called Trumpland: The First 100 Days, focused on the impacts of the returning president’s policies. In the final 100 days before the election, Wagner reported from the Democratic National Convention and the presidential debates and other political events.
As the top ratings getter, Maddow’s return to a weeknight schedule may give the network a needed boost following a viewership tune out after Election Day, a drop that also has beset CNN. Executives hope that audiences will turn once the new administration gets up and running. Maddow and other MSNBC opinion hosts in particular stand to be significant voices in opposition to the new administration, as they were during Trump’s first term.
The Rachel Maddow Show and Alex Wagner Tonight will return to their regular schedules on May 1.
Maddow pulled back from her weeknight schedule after signing a new contract in 2021. That has given her more time to focus on podcasts and a book. She also served as executive producer of the documentary From Russia with Lev, her first film, drawing 2.2 million total viewers.
MSNBC’s primetime viewership since the election has averaged 706,000, a drop of 57% from the 1.63 million average before Nov. 5. The network has pointed to past post-election periods, when the network also saw a viewer fall off, only to return. MSNBC noted that The Rachel Maddow Show last week averaged 1.62 million total viewers, up 20% from the post election period.
Maddow also lead coverage of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
The network also plans to launch a podcast, The Blueprint with Jen Psaki, about the future of the Democratic party. All in with Chris Hayes will launch a recurring segment, Here is What is True, described as a “straight-forward reality check” of the news coming out of Washington.
MSNBC is in the process of separating from parent Comcast under the company’s plan to spin off cable networks. The new company, dubbed SpinCo in the interim, is being led by Mark Lazarus.
