Mehdi Hasan Lands a Show at MSNBC

Mehdi Hasan, MSNBC political analyst and host of The Mehdi Hasan Show on the Peacock streaming service, announced Thursday that his show is joining MSNBC’s Sunday lineup.

“Some personal news,” Hasan tweeted. “The Mehdi Hasan Show is heading for MSNBC. I’ll be hosting my nightly show not only on PeacockTV but also hosting it on MSNBC every Sunday night, live from 8pm Eastern. Do please tune in, starting this Sunday, Feb. 28th.”

Some personal news.

The @MehdiHasanShow is heading for @MSNBC.

I’ll be hosting my nightly show not only on @peacockTV but also hosting it on @MSNBC every Sunday night, live from 8pm Eastern.

Do please tune in, starting this Sunday, Feb 28th.

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) February 25, 2021

Hasan’s show, which debuted on Peacock in October 2020, features a mix of reporting, analysis, and interviews. His MSNBC show will replace the first hour of The Week with Joshua Johnson, which will now air from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Hasan is known for having a relentless interview style, refusing to let interview subjects get away with trying to dodge his questions. As a political analyst, he has been highly critical of former President Donald Trump and his supporters, but has also called out Trump’s opponents and Democrats.

Since July 2020, when newly-appointed NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde announced the “50 Percent Initiative” to prioritize a diversity of voices, MSNBC has adjusted its lineup. The initiative aims to have a workforce where minorities are at least 50% of the employees at NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC, and where women are also at least 50% of employees. Hasan, who an MSNBC source described as having significant momentum due to segments and interviews that have often gone viral, is a meaningful part of this initiative, as he brings his perspective and experience as a Muslim-American to the show.

Since Conde announced the diversity initiative, MSNBC has launched new shows hosted by Joy Reid, Alicia Menendez, Joshua Johnson, Kasie Hunt, Yasmin Vossoughian, Tiffany Cross, and Jonathan Capehart. Hosts Nicolle Wallace, Ali Velshi, and Ayman Mohyeldin all saw their shows expanded following the announcement of the initiative, and almost half of the hires for CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith are people of color, according to the MSNBC source. In addition to Mehdi’s Peacock show, Zerlina Maxwell also launched a show on Peacock’s news channel The Choice last October.

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