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MS NOW is trimming an hour from Morning Joe as part of a sweeping programming overhaul announced Wednesday (March 18) at the liberal cable network. The changes, which take effect in June, will see the show return to a three-hour format from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, ending the four-hour run that began in 2022.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision comes as hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have noted the toll of leading a four-hour show five days a week. While the show's ratings have remained strong, the grueling schedule has proven demanding for the anchors.
MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler announced the changes during the network's daily editorial call, unveiling a comprehensive lineup restructuring that affects nearly every daypart. Stephanie Ruhle will take over the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. slot with a new program focusing on money and politics, moving from her current role hosting The 11th Hour. Jonathan Lemire, who had co-anchored the 9 a.m. hour, will become co-anchor of the 8 a.m. hour instead.
The programming shake-up includes several other major moves. Variety reports that Ali Velshi will take over The 11th Hour from Ruhle, transitioning from his long-running weekend program. Jacob Soboroff will assume Velshi's weekend time slot from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In the daytime hours, Alicia Menendez will move from The Weeknight to anchor from noon to 2 p.m. weekdays. Luke Russert, who leads MS NOW's live events business and has been a frequent fill-in host, will join The Weeknight full time, replacing Menendez alongside Symone Sanders Townsend and Michael Steele.
Chris Hayes' show All In will return to Mondays at 8 p.m., with The Weeknight trimming to one hour on that night. Chris Jansing, currently anchoring from noon to 2 p.m., will shift to a new role as chief political reporter ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Deadline reports that Ana Cabrera, who joined MS NOW from CNN in 2023 and currently anchors from 10 a.m. to noon, will depart the network. In a social media video Wednesday, Cabrera said she had "decided to make a change" and will announce her next move soon. A new 11 a.m. anchor will be named in coming weeks.
The changes represent the first major programming overhaul since MS NOW rebranded from MSNBC and spun out into Versant earlier this year.