“I still have all these other irons in the fire, all these things I’m working on that I want to bring to fruition,” Rachel Maddow said while announcing the new schedule for her show. Rachel Maddow is scaling back her on-air hours on MSNBC starting next month.
The political pundit, 49, revealed on Monday that her nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, will transition to a weekly format, broadcasting exclusively on Mondays.
Maddow stated that she does not need “another big period off.” after discussing her last break.
Rather, she stated, “Here’s the game plan. I’m back, and I’ll be here for the rest of the month, Monday through Thursday nights. Now, during major news events, such as the run-up to the election, I will, of course, be here much more frequently.”
She said, “This month, I’ll be here… And then, beginning next month, in May, I’ll be here on a weekly basis. I’ll be here on Monday evenings to allow myself more time to work on some of the other projects I’m working on for MSNBC and NBC.”
A network executive told The Hollywood Reporter that Maddow’s job will be temporarily filled by rotating guest hosts.
“I do still have all these other irons in the fire, all these other things I’m working on that I want to bring to fruition, none of them are fast, all of them take a long time, and I’m still working on all of them.” Maddow said this on her broadcast on Monday.
In January, Maddow informed her viewers that she would “take a little bit of time off” to assist with the production of Bag Man, a film directed by Ben Stiller based on her book and podcast.
When she announced her hiatus in February, Maddow indicated that she may be taking another one.
But she said on her return on Monday, “One of the things I realized to my surprise is that I actually don’t need another hiatus. This one was great. But I think I only needed one. I still have these other irons in the fire, all these other things I am working on that I want to bring to fruition.”
The once-a-week arrangement will be used to see whether Maddow’s presence at the start of the week helps maintain viewers for the rest of the nights.
During Maddow’s absence, Al Velshi has stepped in on numerous evenings, but the network has not revealed long-term plans for the hour. “I’m really, really grateful that he helmed things so ably while I was gone,” Maddow said. “I sort of feel like I have big shoes to fill coming back, given what a good job he’s been doing.”
Stephanie Ruhle moved from the 9 a.m. position to the 11 p.m. slot, where Brian Williams had presented The Last Word until his resignation in December. Morning Joe’s fourth hour occupied the 9 a.m. time slot.
