MSNBC cancels three more shows following Joy Reid in network shake-up

MSNBC has axed another three of its stars’ shows after canceling Joy Reid’s program.

According to a source within the network, Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart, and Ayman Mohyeldin have all been removed from their current time slots, as reported by the New York Post.

Mohyeldin, who hosts Ayman Mohyeldin Reports, will broadcast its final episode on April 20 at 7pm, a spokesperson confirmed.

It remains unclear when Capehart and Phang – who each also have their own weekend shows – will host their final installments. 

Mohyeldin and Capehart are said to be getting new shows in different timeslots – though the details surrounding them have yet to be announced.

Katie Phang has transitioned to become the network’s legal correspondent, having previously worked as a legal analyst for NBCUniversal since 2017. Her new show is recorded at MSNBC’s South Florida studios, which are reportedly scheduled for closure.

The news of these changes follows the recent cancellation of Joy Reid’s show, The Reid Out, due to plummeting viewership, as revealed by a premature leak on Sunday and later confirmed by network executives.

Brass are now reportedly trying to get hold of the anchor to see if she’ll film a final episode, as fellow NBCU asset NBC News further confirmed Monday that Lester Holt was also leaving his iconic Nightly News gig.

Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart and Ayman Mohyeldin have also been given the boot from their current timeslots, according to the New York Post – who obtained the insight from a source named as an ‘MSNBC insider’

News of the impending bloodbath comes hours after Joy Reid’s The Reid Out was canceled amid tanking ratings – a decision leaked early Sunday and confirmed by her bosses just hours later 

Holt, after assuming the spot from a then disgraced Brian Williams in 2015, will now focus solely on Dateline, both he and more senior staffers confirmed in correspondence sent Monday morning.

As this was happening, the insider who spoke to the post revealed that both Capehart and Phang were informed about the network’s decision to do away with their shows Monday as well – as the newsroom reacted to the news surrounding Holt and Reid.

The account was provided in the wake of reporting from The Guardian that indicated Mohyeldin’s program would be taken off the air.

The show’s final episode will be broadcast on April 20, the paper reported – as staffers at MSNBC went on to confirm all three of the affected personalities will stay at the network, though on different shows.

Capehart and Mohyeldin – currently the hosts of The Saturday/Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart and Ayman, respectively – will man programs yet to be named, staffers confirmed.

As for The ReidOut, its undoing was confirmed by MSNBC’s new president Rebecca Kutler Sunday – weeks after the boss of the media firm that now oversees MSNBC, Spinco, reportedly expressed a need for more Republican voices on the network. 

On a conference call Sunday, Kutler – who assumed the post days ago after the ouster of president Rashida Jones – told staffers how MSNBC would like Reid to host one last show on the network this week, but that she had yet to agree.

Seemingly doubling down on recently returned ratings crown jewel Rachel Maddow, Kutler’s strategy also saw Alex Wagner pulled as the host of the network’s 9pm hour on weekdays – leaving her to host days not manned by Maddow.

As for The ReidOut, its undoing was confirmed by MSNBC’s new president Rebecca Kutler Sunday – weeks after the boss of the media firm that now oversees MSNBC, Spinco, reportedly expressed a need for more Republican voices on the network 

Seemingly doubling down on recently returned ratings crown jewel Rachel Maddow, Kutler’s strategy also saw Alex Wagner pulled as the host of the network’s 9 pm hour on weekdays – leaving her to host days not manned by Rachel Maddow

Maddow – seen here during a September 2020 broadcast about the gynecologist at a Georgia ICE facility that saw NBCU settle a $30million defamation suit last week – recently returned to broadcasting five days a week, a strategy that will remain in place until, at least, late April

It remains unclear whether Reid – who after her first show, the Reid Report, was cancelled in 2020 would regularly fill in for fellow hosts Maddow and Chris Hayes – has agreed to a final broadcast.

Previously, she pivoted to manning a political weekend-morning talk show, AM Joy, that was canceled in 2020 to pave the way for her second show, set to be replaced by by a new panel-style program.

New hosts include Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele, and Symone Sanders Townsend, The New York Post reported.