Fox News Overhauls Primetime Lineup in Post-Tucker Carlson Era

Alex Weprin
·3 min read
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Fox News is blowing up its primetime lineup in a dramatic reset following the ouster of Tucker Carlson in April.

The new lineup will see Fox News move Jesse Watters to 8 p.m., effectively replacing Carlson. Laura Ingraham, formerly the 10 p.m. host, will shift to 7 p.m.; and Greg Gutfeld will move to 10 p.m. Sean Hannity will remain at 9 p.m.

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In addition, the 11 p.m. hour will now be the home to Fox News @ Night, the news program anchored by Trace Gallagher, which previously ran at midnight.

While the new schedule completely changes almost every hour of primetime, it also leans on familiar faces, a move that could help quell ratings concerns at 8 p.m. in recent weeks.

“Fox News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement. “The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”

The new lineup keeps Hannity at 9 p.m., where he has been a stalwart since the days of Hannity & Colmes from the channel’s launch in 1996. It also moves Watters into the critical 8 p.m. slot, a time period he is familiar with, having began his career as a producer for Bill O’Reilly when he led the hour. Ingraham, meanwhile, moves to 7 p.m., where she may be in a position to secure a larger audience than at 10 p.m., given recent cable news ratings trends. Gutfeld moves into primetime, while still giving him an hour where he can try to claim late night status.

While Fox News never lost its grip on the cable news ratings hierarchy, its 8 p.m. ratings fell after Carlson’s departure, and the rotating guest hosts were not able to recoup all of those viewers (though some advertisers that had abandoned the hour returned after he left).

Carlson’s shock departure was announced April 24, with no reason or rationale given. Since then, a bevy of theories have been out forth, from still-sealed text messages to secret Dominion settlements, though the company has said little.

“With regards to our programming strategy in primetime, there’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts on May 9. “It’s obviously a successful strategy. And as always, you know, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup and that’s what we continue to do.”

As for Carlson, he landed at Twitter, where he promised to bring “a new version of the show that we have been doing for the past six and a half years.”

Now that new show will have to compete with a Fox News lineup that appears built to defend its moat.

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