Following her 2016 summer fall-out with Fox News and conservative viewers, Megyn Kelly demanded a king’s ransom from NBC News for her services.
Six months and $20 million later, Kelly debuted her much anticipated news magazine show Saturday Night with Megyn Kelly on June 4th — and critics were not impressed.
Not impressed at all.
“Megyn Kelly off to rough start with NBC show’s premiere,” wrote Newsday, who called Kelly “overwhelmed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin during their one-on-one interview. Their final assessment? “Bottom line: Rough launch for Megyn Kelly, but score one for Vladimir Putin.”
They weren’t alone. Critics have lined up to lambast Kelly’s show as “tepid” and unable to live up to the hype.
“Megyn Kelly’s NBC Debut With Vladimir Putin Falls Flat,” read Forbes’ headline. Charlotte Business Journal echoed their rating: “Despite the hype, Megyn Kelly’s debut falls flat.”
NPR said Kelly’s interview “produced little besides irritated denials”, while Buffalo News called it “the failed TV news opportunity of the year.”
The Los Angeles Times was more direct, and wrote that Kelly was thoroughly “outmaneuvered” by the Russian dictator.
“For Putin, it was child’s play as he displayed an elusive and ultimately dismissive demeanor toward Kelly,” the Times’ Lorriane Ali wrote.
Breitbart news pointed out that Kelly eagerly embraced “4 Democratic conspiracy theories” on the program — but obtained little in the way of substance.
Even CNN jumped in, slamming Kelly’s transition by saying “if this first hour was any guide, it’s going to require more work and reinvention [from NBC News] to find the ideal formula for that Kelly cocktail.”
Ouch.
It’s clear that Kelly and her NBC overlords are likely scrambling to correct this expensive ship soon to make sure their huge investment pays off.
Perhaps they should’ve thought about that before alienating millions of conservative viewers?
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— The Horn editorial team