CNN is shaking up its primetime, saying Thursday that Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins will team up as hosts of a “reimagined” morning show program that debuts later this year.
Lemon has been ousted from his primetime show.
The new morning show will replace the current team of John Berman and Brianna Keilar at “New Day,” which airs on the news network from 6 to 9 a.m. Eastern.
It’s the latest major programming shakeup announced by new CNN Chairman Chris Licht, who has an extensive background in morning television. He helped develop “Morning Joe” at MSNBC and also produced “CBS This Morning” in the early 2010s.
Much of the news Licht has made since starting his job in May has been subtractions, canceling the “Reliable Sources” media show and letting go liberal host Brian Stelter, as well as parting ways with legal affairs reporter Jeffrey Toobin and White House correspondent John Harwood.
The shakeup opens another huge hole in CNN’s primetime lineup, where Lemon had hosted the 10 p.m. weeknight hour. CNN still hasn’t replaced Chris Cuomo at 9 p.m. after he was fired last December.
The moves have reportedly been part of an effort to curb CNN’s liberal slant, and win back conservative viewers.
Lemon said in a statement that his last eight years as a primetime host have been an incredible ride, but that it’s time to “shake things up.”
“I was honestly floored when Chris Licht asked me to do this and I’m honored by his belief in me,” Lemon said. “It’s going to be a thrill ride to take on this challenge with Poppy and Kaitlan.”
“New Day” will get a new name, format, and set in the revamp. CNN said those details, including the premiere date, will be announced later.
For Harlow, the change means getting up earlier. She currently anchors the 9 to 11 a.m. hours on CNN, where she has worked since 2008.
Collins, 30, has had a meteoric rise at CNN. She joined the network in 2017 and was named the network’s chief White House correspondent last year. She’ll be leaving the White House, but unlike Lemon and Harlow, Collins was also named “chief correspondent” of the new morning show, meaning she’ll often be reporting from news locations.
Mornings are particularly competitive in television news. Besides network offerings “Good Morning America” on ABC, the “Today” show on NBC and “CBS Mornings,” cable competitors have well-established franchises with “Fox & Friends” and “Morning Joe.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article