Luke Russert is stepping into a co-host role on MS NOW’s 7 p. m. program “The Weeknight” as the network unveils sweeping schedule changes set to take effect in June. The moves mark MS NOW’s first significant programming overhaul since its name change last November and its spin-off into a new media company called Versant.
What happens when Luke Russert takes a co-host seat on “The Weeknight”?
Luke Russert will co-host “The Weeknight” alongside Symone Sanders Townsend and Michael Steele, replacing Alicia Menendez in the trio. Menendez is moving to a new daily show from 12 p. m. to 2 p. m. ET, a shift that also changes the role of the network’s current noon-hour anchor, Chris Jansing, who will move into a reporting position.
The network’s leadership framed the lineup reset as both a strategic response to audience patterns and a preparation phase for upcoming election cycles. MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler tied the timing to the midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election, presenting the reshuffle as an effort to strengthen the schedule for the stretch ahead.
What if the new daytime schedule is a direct bid to fix MS NOW’s weakest hours?
The changes are designed to address MS NOW’s daytime ratings, an area described as weaker than the network’s prime-time performance. While prime time has shown growth since the rebrand in November, the June schedule aims to bring more defined programming bets to the daytime block.
A central change is a new two-hour morning program from 9 a. m. to 11 a. m. ET hosted by Stephanie Ruhle, who currently anchors the network’s 11 p. m. hour. The 9–11 a. m. slot is being created in part by shortening “Morning Joe” from four hours back to three hours. The program, co-hosted by Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, expanded to four hours in 2022, and the hosts have discussed the strain of maintaining that length daily.
Ruhle’s move triggers additional reassignments. Her late-night hour will be hosted by Ali Velshi, and Jacob Soboroff will take over Velshi’s weekend duties. The network also said the schedule change includes the departure of Ana Cabrera, who anchored a 10 a. m. news show and announced she is leaving as part of the rework. Cabrera said she decided to make a change and indicated she would share more information about her future plans later.
MS NOW also plans to restore Chris Hayes to hosting his 8 p. m. program five days per week rather than four, reinforcing the evening schedule as the network adjusts the rest of the day around it.
What if this lineup reset signals a broader identity shift after the name change?
MS NOW’s programming moves arrive after the network’s transition from MSNBC to MS NOW last November, alongside a corporate restructuring that placed it under Versant. Versant has disclosed financial context around the broader business: it reported earnings earlier this month, indicating that total revenue for 2025 would have been $6. 69 billion, 5. 3% lower than the prior year. Within that environment, network leadership has pointed to momentum in viewership since the rebrand.
Versant chief executive Mark Lazarus said the network achieved significant growth in viewership after the name change. In February, MS NOW averaged 1. 4 million total viewers in primetime, up 20% from the previous year,. Even with those gains, the network’s daytime schedule remained the pressure point the June plan is intended to address.
Kutler has said the network’s daytime programming will remain rooted in hard news, even as the schedule shifts hosts and show structures. She also told staff that affected show teams would be able to move into new roles at the company, and she expressed an expectation that the overall staff count would grow by the end of the year. In a separate statement about staffing, Kutler said she expects to have more people working at MS NOW by the end of 2026 than it has today.
For viewers, the immediate takeaway is a network rebalancing: mornings are being refitted to open space for a new Ruhle-led block; midday is being rebuilt around Menendez’s two-hour show; and early evening is being recalibrated with Luke Russert joining “The Weeknight. ”
Luke Russert’s move, in particular, places him in a prominent weekday slot within the refreshed lineup at a moment when MS NOW is explicitly positioning its schedule decisions around political coverage cycles. The June launch window is set, and the success of the changes will be judged in the hours the network itself has identified as most in need of reinvention.
