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Fox News has announced who will host Tucker Carlson’s old 8 PM ET primetime slot this week.
A new report reveals that Will Cain, co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” will be taking over the time slot this week. The show is currently being called “Fox News Tonight” since Tucker Carlson was ousted from the network last month.
“Cain is the fourth host to hold down the fort while Fox News searches for a permanent replacement for Carlson, who was booted along with ratings juggernaut Tucker Carlson Tonight last month in the wake of Fox’s legal settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Brian Kilmeade was the first in rotation, followed by Lawrence Jones and Kayleigh McEnany (who wrapped her turn this week),” The Wrap reported.
“Cain shares Fox & Friends Weekend hosting duties with Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m.-10 a.m., and brings a strong sports background as a former ESPN contributor; his Fox News Audio show The Will Cain Podcast is a fusion of politics and sports,” the outlet added. “On Sundays in particular, Fox & Friends Weekend leads the cable-news pack, averaging over a million viewers and outdrawing CNN and MSNBC in the 25-54 demo through the first quarter. Cain normally commutes from his Texas home to do Fox & Friends Weekend, though it looks like he’ll be in the Big Apple for all of next week.”
Will Cain, co-host of 'Fox & Friends Weekend,' will guest host Tucker Carlson's 8pm primetime spot this week pic.twitter.com/ZNs8Z69ewN
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) May 15, 2023
Rumors continue to swirl around who the network might choose to take over Carlson’s time slot.
Mediaite published a report titled, “Who Will Replace Tucker Carlson at Fox News? Here Are Mediaite’s Top Picks,” where staff members compiled a list of potential hosts who could take over Carlson’s coveted 8 PM time slot.
Mediaite suggested in its report that Fox News could simply move around Watters, Ingraham, or Hannity to give them the 8 PM time slot and test a new host in a later time slot. That way, a more seasoned host would simply take over Carlson’s time slot on the network.
In the event that Fox News keeps the primetime hosts in their current time slots, here are the top 6 names that Mediaite suggested could take over Carlson’s show:
Greg Gutfeld — who hosts “The Five” and his late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!”
Tulsi Gabbard — a former Democratic lawmaker and 2020 presidential candidate
Kayleigh McEnany — former press secretary in the Trump administration
Brian Kilmeade — a longtime host and figure at Fox News
Pete Hegseth — a co-host and contributor at Fox News
Jesse Watters — who hosts “The Five” and his own primetime show
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— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) May 4, 2023
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Time will tell what Fox News decides to do, but news of Carlson’s firing ignited a firestorm on social media this week.
Carlson was reportedly “blindsided” on Monday when he received a phone call from CEO Suzanne Scott informing him that he had been fired.
The firing came as Carlson had been negotiating a new contract that would have reportedly kept him at the network through 2029, according to an Independent report.
Now, a former top Fox News host thinks he knows the reason why Carlson was let go.
During an interview with Chris Cuomo of News Nation, Bill O’Reilly — the former Fox News host who previously occupied the coveted primetime 8 PM time slot — argued that he believes Carlson was fired because the network is facing a slew of lawsuits related to the 2020 election.
Fox News just settled a lawsuit with Dominion and agreed to pay out a whopping $787 million. The network also has an ongoing lawsuit filed by former Fox News booker Abby Grossberg.
“Because the pending litigation was harpooned this morning. Carlson didn’t know. It just happened. And that’s the nature of television news, the most wicked industry in the United States of America,” O’Reilly said.
“Tucker Carlson took over from me. For the first three years, his ratings were soft. He lost about a million, maybe a little bit more of my audience, and then in 2020 he took a hard right turn,” O’Reilly said. “Carlson basically programmed for a very hard right audience and his numbers came up.”
WATCH:
Bill O’Reilly tells Chris Cuomo why he thinks Tucker Carlson was fired:
“That’s the nature of television news — the most wicked industry in the United States of America.”pic.twitter.com/6BYflhoDUa
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) April 26, 2023
