MS NOW cancels ‘The Weekend: Primetime’ in favor of video podcasts

MS NOW has canceled its evening panel show “The Weekend: Primetime.”

The final episode of the show aired Saturday, June 27, 2026. Moving forward, the network will shift to recorded programming on weekend evenings. 

The move represents an expansion of its partnership with Crooked Media. The network launched “Crooked on MS NOW” in February 2026, a 9 p.m. ET compilation show. 

Under the new arrangement, MS NOW will also fill the earlier weekend evening hours with a mix of Crooked Media titles as well as content from its own video podcasts, including “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” and “Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes.”

MS NOW issued a statement indicating that some jobs will be affected by the cancellation, but noted it has around 40 open positions in other parts of its operations. 

Co-hosts Ayman Mohyeldin, Antonia Hylton, Catherine Rampell and Elise Jordan are all expected to remain with the network, with Hylton will eventually anchor from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekends after Alex Witt leaves (she will also handle the 11 a.m. weekday hour temporarily until Peter Alexander takes over). Mohyeldin, Rampell and Jordan will take on wider reporting and analysis roles.

MS NOW launched “The Weekend: Primetime” in May 2025, as a spinoff of its “The Weekend” show, a similar panel offering that airs weekend mornings.

“The Weekend” also spurred the launch of “The Weeknight,” a weekday evening show that saw original hosts Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Alicia Menendez shift to Monday through Friday (Menendez has since departed the show for her own dayside program, “On the Line,” with Luke Russert taking her spot).

Advertisement

MS NOW will pull from Crooked media video podcasts “Pod Save America,” “Pod Save the World,” “Strict Scrutiny,” “Lovett or Leave It,” “Runaway Country with Alex Wagner,” “Hysteria,” “Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams,” “Offline with Jon Favreau” and “What A Day.”