Way Too Early

Last updated
Way Too Early
Way Too Early With Jonathan Lemire Title Card.jpg
Genre Morning news show
Starring Jonathan Lemire (until January 2025)
Ali Vitali (from January 2025)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production location New York City
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Network MSNBC
ReleaseJuly 27, 2009 (2009-07-27) –
August 12, 2016 (2016-08-12)
ReleaseSeptember 21, 2020 (2020-09-21) –
present
Related

Way Too Early is an American early morning news show that airs weekday mornings on MSNBC.

Contents

The first incarnation of Way Too Early premiered on July 27, 2009, hosted by Willie Geist. It was later hosted by a variety of NBC News on-air talent, including Thomas Roberts and others on a temporary basis, including Ayman Mohyeldin. The final hosts were Chief White House Correspondent Chris Jansing and Frances Rivera. It originally ended on August 12, 2016, as its lead-in program First Look was expanded back into the full hour and rebranded as Morning Joe First Look to build continuity with the later program.

On September 10, 2020, MSNBC announced that Way Too Early would be revived beginning September 21, with Kasie Hunt as anchor. Hunt would depart the network on July 16, 2021; Jonathan Lemire was named as her replacement on October 25. In December 2024, it was announced that Lemire would move to Morning Joe, and that Ali Vitali would become the new host of Way Too Early in January 2025.

History

Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, announced the show on July 15, 2009, and described it as a "pre-game show" for Morning Joe. [1] Mike Barnicle often filled in for original host Willie Geist, jokingly referring to the show as "Way Too Old (or Elderly) with Mike Barnicle", while Peter Alexander also covered for Geist. On September 24, 2012, NBC News announced that Geist would be named co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of Today , filling the co-host slot formerly held by Savannah Guthrie (who now anchors the 7-9 a.m. portion of the morning program).

The original executive producer was Chris Licht, who was also the co-creator and executive producer of Morning Joe before leaving MSNBC to become executive producer of CBS This Morning and Vice President of Programming at CBS.

Way Too Early was not branded "Brewed by Starbucks" like Morning Joe until the sponsorship deal expired in September 2013. Both shows had similar graphics packages, are broadcast from the same set, and frequently reference each other.

On May 8, 2013, MSNBC announced that CNBC reporter Brian Shactman would be the new regular host of Way Too Early. He began his anchoring duties for the show May 13, 2013.

On January 3, 2014, MSNBC announced that Thomas Roberts would be the new regular host of Way Too Early starting on January 13. Roberts left in mid 2015 to do various daytime anchor duties, with no guest host announced.

Way Too Early aired its final regular edition on July 22, 2016, from July 25 to August 12, 2016, Way Too Early expanded to 1 hour, taking over First Look briefly. The next Monday, Way Too Early became Morning Joe First Look, with a few former Way Too Early segments blended into the second half-hour.

On September 10, 2020, MSNBC announced it would relaunch Way Too Early, with Kasie Hunt as the new host, effectively replacing Morning Joe First Look , starting on September 21. [2] Hunt left the program and MSNBC on July 16, 2021, [3] departing for a job at CNN to anchor its competing early-morning program Early Start . [4] [5] In the meantime, the show was hosted by a rotation of guest anchors, including, in particular, Jonathan Lemire; on October 25, it was announced that Lemire would become the new regular host. [6] On December 9, 2024, it was announced that Lemire would move to the 9 a.m. hour of Morning Joe, with Ali Vitali succeeding Lemire as host of Way Too Early beginning in January 2025. [7]

Segments

Regular segments on Way Too Early have included:

Hosts

Substitute hosts

Substitute hosts for the show have included Luke Russert, Savannah Guthrie, Peter Alexander, Mike Barnicle, Jonathan Capehart, Jonathan Lemire, Alicia Menendez, Alex Witt, Sam Stein and Mark Halperin, with Bill Karins and Louis Burgdorf having hosted the entire program.

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References

  1. ↑ Ariens, Chris (July 15, 2009). ""Way Too Early" to Debut July 27". Adweek . Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (September 10, 2020). "MSNBC Expands Weekend Programming; Kasie Hunt Revives 'Way Too Early' on Weekdays". Variety . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (July 16, 2021). "Kasie Hunt Leaving NBC News, MSNBC". Variety.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Ted (August 14, 2023). "CNN Unveils Lineup Overhaul: Abby Phillip And Laura Coates Get Nighttime Shows, Phil Mattingly and Kasie Hunt To Host In Mornings". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Dory (October 15, 2021). "CNN's Kasie Hunt Reveals She Had Surgery to Remove a Benign Brain Tumor: 'Pretty Surreal'". People. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2021-10-25). "MSNBC Hands 'Way Too Early' to Jonathan Lemire". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2024-12-09). "Ali Vitali Will Take Reins of MSNBC's 'Way Too Early'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  8. ↑ Announced this was her last appearance at the end of her 7/16/21 show.
  9. ↑ MSNBC announces on October 25, 2021 that Jonathan Lemire will be Hunts replacement.
  10. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (2024-12-09). "Ali Vitali Will Take Reins of MSNBC's 'Way Too Early'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
Preceded by
The Rachel Maddow Show / Alex Wagner Tonight (replay, Tuesday-Friday)
 MSNBC Weekday Lineup
5:00 am – 6:00 am (ET)		Succeeded by
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