CNN overhauls nighttime programming, promotes Abby Phillip to 10 p.m. host

CNN announced major changes to its weekday and weekend programming Monday as it prepares to cover the 2024 presidential election.

Anchor and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip, who ran a Sunday political show, will now host “CNN NewsNight” weekdays at 10 p.m.

Laura Coates, the network’s chief legal analyst, will get her own show at 11 p.m., to be named “Laura Coates Live.” She has previously worked as a fill-in host across the network’s lineup.

Phillip and Coates will combine to fill the 10 p.m. to midnight slot that was home to Don Lemon from 2014 to 2022. Lemon was moved to mornings in late 2022 before an internal investigation led to his firing in April.

Alisyn Camerota had been hosting “CNN Tonight” in the interim period. She has been reassigned to the network’s long-form reporting team.

Additionally, anchor and chief national affairs analyst Kasie Hunt will host “Early Start” at 5 a.m. following the departure of longtime morning anchor Christine Romans last month. Anchor and chief investigative correspondent Pamela Brown will get her own show at 3 p.m., “The Bulletin with Pamela Brown,” which will replace the last hour of “CNN News Central.”

“By expanding the range and depth of our programming lineup across multiple dayparts, we are strengthening our reporting excellence throughout the schedule,” CNN leadership team Amy Entelis, David Leavy, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling said in a press release.

The team took over CNN in June after chairman and CEO Chris Licht’s abrupt departure. Licht’s exit was just the latest in a few turbulent years for CNN, which lost powerhouse boss Jeff Zucker and stars Lemon and Chris Cuomo to various scandals.

In addition to the weekday changes, four CNN veterans are getting their own weekend shows. Victor Blackwell, Chris Wallace and Christiane Amanpour will anchor Saturday timeslots. Manu Raju will host a Sunday program.

Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 and has long been one of its most recognizable names, but she has never had her own show on the network. Instead, she has anchored interview shows that aired on CNN International and PBS.