MSNBC adding new weekend and streaming show from Katie Phang

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MSNBC has signed one of its longtime legal analysts to host a new weekend show as well as a streaming offering.

Katie Phang, who has been a legal analyst for NBCUniversal News Group since 2017, will host a 7 a.m. eastern weekend show as well as a twice weekly show for MSNBC’s The Choice channel on Peacock.

Neither show has been given a title yet. It’s also not clear what format each show will take or how they might differentiate from each other.

The 7 a.m. weekend schedule change, which starts April 9, 2022, will displace an hour of “MSNBC Reports” that was formerly part of a longer block anchored by Kendis Gibson and Lindsey Reiser.

Gibson left MSNBC earlier in 2022 for WFOR in Miami. Reiser has continued to anchor the 7 a.m. hour but it’s not clear what her role will be going forward.

MSNBC also moved “Zerlina” from The Choice into the 6 a.m. slot.

Meanwhile, MSNBC’s channel on Peacock, The Choice, will carry another show from Phang set for 2 p.m. eastern Thursdays and Fridays starting April 14, 2022.

The shows will originate from Telemundo Center in Miami. Jose Diaz-Balart currently anchors weekday hour of “MSNBC Reports” from that facility.

Assuming “Zerlina” stays put and Phang’s show doesn’t just offer straightforward news coverage, this will now give the network a five hour long weekend block of personality driven perspective programming rather than rolling news coverage.

It’s weekend lineup also includes “Velshi” and “The Cross Connection” that run through noon Saturdays.

Alex Witt picks up anchoring news coverage then, followed by Yasmin Vossoughian at 3 p.m. The network then switches back to analysis programming with “PoliticsNation” with Rev. Al Sharpton, “American Voices” with Alicia Menendez and “Ayman” with Ayman Mohyeldin.

On Sundays, the schedule includes “The Mehdi Hasan Show” and “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” stepping in for shows that only air once a week.