BREAKING: Joy Reid Out at MSNBC as Part of Stunning Network Shakeup
By Joe DePaolo,
2025-02-23
MSNBC is dramatically shaking up its lineup — and the shocking changes will result in the end of Joy Reid’s decade-long tenure at the network.
On Sunday, Variety and The New York Times reported that Reid’s 7 p.m. weeknight show, The ReidOut , is being canceled and will air its final episode this week. Mediaite has confirmed, through a source familiar with the changes at MSNBC, that Reid will be leaving the network completely as a result. She has been a host with MSNBC since 2014, and has piloted The ReidOut since 2020.
But lest the departure of one of its most prominent progressive voices be taken as some kind of ideological shift, MSNBC is turning to one of its most liberal shows to fill the vacancy left by Reid. Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez — the hosts of MSNBC’s Saturday and Sunday morning show, The Weekend — will take over the 7 p.m. time slot, Mediaite has confirmed. The trio — which has made headlines recently for some fiery left-wing takes — will also host a two-hour edition of their show on Monday nights from 7-9 p.m., on top of the one hour 7-8 p.m. version Tuesday through Friday.
Another big winner in the MSNBC shakeup is Jen Psaki . A source familiar confirms to Mediaite that Psaki is set to land a nightly primetime slot as part of the changes. Rachel Maddow is currently hosting the 9 p.m. hour every night, but is scheduled to return to just one night per week starting in late April. Alex Wagner , who hosted on 9 p.m. Tuesday through Fridays prior to Maddow’s return to a nightly program, will lose her show, but remain with MSNBC as a correspondent.
The additions of Psaki and The Weekend team to primetime are far from the only changes in this network-wide shakeup. MSNBC is also in talks to add Politico’s Eugene Daniels and NYU law professor Melissa Murray to the lineup — a source familiar tells Mediaite. And there will be additional changes to the dayside and weekend lineups — on top of the seismic shakeup in primetime.
The moves constitute a very splashy entrance for brand new MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler — who was announced as the network’s leader on Feb. 12. In naming Kutler to the post, Mark Lazarus — the CEO of SpinCO, the company which now controls MSNBC and other media properties spun off from Comcast last year — cited Kutler’s “big-picture strategic view” as a reason for giving her the job.
“In the short time that Rebecca was the interim president, it became clear to me that she has the big-picture strategic view and the right leadership skills to ensure MSNBC delivers on its brand promise and is positioned for growth during a time of industry change,” Lazerus said in a Feb. 12 statement.
Indeed, Kutler is wasting no time implementing that big-picture view — despite a ratings bounce back from MSNBC since the inauguration. In the four weeks since the inauguration, MSNBC’s primetime total viewers have gone up 77 percent compared to four weeks before the inauguration — reestablishing a firm grip on second place ahead of CNN, but well behind Fox News. The recent recovery follows a disastrous period between the election and New Year’s — in which MSNBC lost almost half its audience .
An MSNBC spokesperson declined to comment.
The post BREAKING: Joy Reid Out at MSNBC as Part of Stunning Network Shakeup first appeared on Mediaite .
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