MSNBC To Drop Mehdi Hasan’s Show, Launch ‘The Weekend’ As Part Of Overhaul Of Saturday And Sunday Lineup

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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UPDATED, with response to Hasan show cancellation: MSNBC is launching The Weekend, a morning news show on Saturdays and Sundays, as part of a series of changes to the weekend lineup that include ending Mehdi Hasan’s one hour weekend show.

The show will be hosted by Alicia Menendez, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele and will air from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on both days.

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Other changes include Ayman Mohyeldin taking over Mehdi Hasan’s one hour program on Sundays, with Mohyeldin expanding to four hours on both days. Hasan will remain at the network as political analyst and fill in host, the network said. His Peacock streaming series also will end, as will Sanders’ show Symone.

Alex Witt will expand hours of Alex Witt Reports from 1 p.m. ET to 4 p.m. ET, with Yasmin Yossoughian continuing as a national reporter.

Jonathan Capehart’s show, meanwhile, will move to 6 p.m. ET on Saturdays and Sundays, and Katie Phang will shift to Saturdays at noon ET. Ali Velshi will continue in his time slot, with four hours of weekend programming.

The changes are effective Jan. 13.

In a memo to staffers, MSNBC President Rashida Jones said that the changes will “better position ourselves as we head into the presidential election.”

She said that The Weekend “will provide thoughtful analysis and coverage on the state of our country from three trusted voices familiar to the MSNBC audience.”

In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about Hasan, who has gained substantial attention, and controversy, for his outspoken opinions and interviewing techniques. He also has been been challenging Israeli officials in their response to the Gaza terror attacks, including a contentious interview earlier this month with Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hasan has drawn sharp criticism for his views as anti-Israel. His stances reflect a split on the left when it comes to Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attacks.

The cancellation of Hasan’s show came as a surprise, given that he was viewed as one of the up and coming progressive voices at MSNBC. His show has not been a ratings blockbuster — it averaged about 520,000 viewers in October — but the network often promoted that it beat rival CNN in its time slot. His interviews have at times gone viral on social media. MSNBC host Chris Hayes wrote on Threads, “The nature of this business is that people who are supremely talented sometimes have shows cancelled. It’s rough every time, but it comes with the territory (lord knows I’ve been close myself!)” He went on to call Hasan “one of the most talented broadcast journalists I’ve ever seen or worked with and probably the single best interviewer in American TV. Grateful to have him as a colleague.”

Hasan joined the network in 2021, after serving as a presenter on Al Jazeera’s English channel and a podcast host for The Intercept.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) criticized MSNBC’s move, calling it “bad optics” for the network “right at a time when he is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing.” Khanna wrote on X/Twitter, “As a strong supporter of free speech, MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision. Why would they choose to do this now?”

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