After a short, tumultuous run, CNN This Morning produced its final episode Friday morning as a new morning programming lineup is set to debut next week.
As the show signed off for the final time Friday, anchors Phil Mattingly and Poppy Harlow thanked those who worked behind the scenes for their commitment to the show, noting the morning timeslot features a difficult schedule for the dozens of people involved with the production of the program.
A new show of a similar name — CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt — will debut from 5-7 AM ET on Monday. Following it, a morning version of CNN NewsCentral will launch in the 7-10 AM ET window.
The network launched the show in November 2022 as the brainchild of former executive Chris Licht, which paired hosts Don Lemon, Kaitlan Collins, and Harlow together. The program struggled to gain its footing amid reported internal issues between Lemon and Collins, with ratings sagging for months. Eventually, Lemon was fired by the network after a series of on-air missteps and behind-the-scenes turmoil. Collins was later moved to a primetime slot with the network, which she maintains.
Later, CNN fired Licht after strong internal pushback over his decision to host former President Donald Trump for a town hall event. A feature story in The Atlantic called Licht’s ability to manage the brand into question, which ultimately led to his downfall. The outlet later tabbed Mark Thompson to serve as its next President and CEO. He led the charge to bring a new program to the morning timeslot.
With the changes, CNN’s entire morning lineup will now be produced out of its Atlanta studios.
