Mehdi Hasan, the outspoken anti-Trump, pro-Hamas host of MSNBC’s self-titled Sunday evening show, has been cancelled after the network announced a series of weekend lineup changes.
Semafor broke the story on Thursday morning:
MSNBC is canceling outspoken opinion host Mehdi Hasan’s weekend program and show on the streaming service Peacock.
Two people familiar with the move, which MSNBC privately announced to staff Thursday morning, told Semafor that Hasan will become an on-camera analyst and fill-in host. The network plans to expand host Ayman Mohyeldin’s weekend program to two hours to replace Hasan’s show.
According to Mediaite, Hasan will be demoted to fill-in host and political analyst after MSNBC revamped its weekend programming in an effort to boost its dismal ratings. “The Mehdi Hasan Show” started in October 2020 and will end in January 2024, replaced by a second hour of Ayman Mohyeldin’s show.
And according to Washington Post reporter Jeremy Barr, the cancelation comes as MSNBC plans to launch a new “ensemble show,” featuring (among others) former RNC chair Michael Steele.
As part of a weekend shift, MSNBC is launching a new “ensemble show” featuring Symone Sanders, Alicia Menendez, and Michael Steele.
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) November 30, 2023
Mehdi Hasan will also be losing his 8 p.m. Sunday night show (which will be absorbed by Ayman Mohyeldin), but he’s staying at MSNBC as an analyst.
The Hollywood Reporter has more on the new show, which will be called “The Weekend”:
MSNBC is overhauling its weekend lineup ahead of the 2024 election season.
The biggest change is a new morning panel show, called The Weekend, which will be hosted by Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele. The program will run from 8-10 a.m. and originate from Washington D.C., with Kyle Griffin as executive producer.
Sanders-Townsend and Menendez currently host weekend afternoon hours on MSNBC, but will shift to focus on the morning show.
Hasan has taken extreme stances over the years, occasionally putting him at odds with fellow network members. Earlier this year, he confronted Israeli official Mark Regev about what he termed as “endless disinformation from your government” in the ongoing conflict with Hamas. He has criticized Democrats for their lack of robust investigations into members of President Trump’s family during his time in office and has deviated from popular leftist opinions about Joe Biden, saying Biden is “super old” and “keeps forgetting words.” Hasan also hosted guests who accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of “kidnapping” migrants and relocating them to sanctuary cities.
The soon-to-be former host is not only losing his weekend show, but also his Thursday night show on the streaming network Peacock.
Good riddance.
