Peruse the cable news landscape at virtually any time of the day, and you’ll see programs originating from New York or Washington, D.C., almost universally. And then there’s Fox News’ The Will Cain Show, which airs at 4 PM ET.
The program looks like virtually nothing else on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, Newsmax, or NewsNation.
It much more closely aligns with what you’d see in a podcast studio or a YouTube program than what you see from the multifaceted, complex sets constructed on Sixth Avenue. The studio and production of The Will Cain Show exude Texas charm.
And that’s be design.
When Will Cain was thrust into the Fox News lineup earlier this year, he stepped into the timeslot previously occupied by longtime network host Neil Cavuto. And Cain was looking to change things up in the timeslot. He had plenty of experience after hosting his digital show — Will Cain Country, which is also available to radio stations as a one-hour program — and felt comfortable taking aspects of that program and implementing them on the most dominant cable network in the space.
Having the opportunity to change things up — and most importantly, relocate to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, near his hometown — is something Will Cain hasn’t taken for granted.
“I was just so grateful, man,” he said. “This is who I am. I was born and raised in Texas. It’s my culture, it’s my vibe, it’s my people. I get to do this from the place that I was born and raised.”
He shared that being able to be in his home state while maintaining his national platform creates a comfort he wouldn’t have found elsewhere.
“It allows me to be. I think I was no matter where I am, but it’s just so much easier when you’re really at home. It allows me to be authentic. That’s really my goal. In broadcasting in general, there’s this quest to always win, to always be right, to be some version of the Edward R. Murrow, voice of God. And I think it’s false. I think it’s fake and I think the viewer and the listener knows that. It’s the cardinal sin … My approach is to be a real human being with the audience and to be 100% transparent, honest, and authentic.
“I’m not always gonna get it right,” he continued. “And in the world that is full of information, you’re inundated with information from social media to AI and from television to radio. The real value that you can add is the trust that you are trying to get it right and that you’re a real person. So this opportunity to be at home and to do the show — not in the traditional environment of New York, or LA, or Washington, D.C., allows me personally to be much more in touch with what is authentically me. I hope, by extension, I represent a great huge swath of this country that is not represented.”
The move to allow Will Cain the freedom to host his show from Texas has undeniably paid off for Fox News. In its debut episode, The Will Cain Show averaged 3.5 million viewers. That set a cable news record for a debut program, and is slightly behind the ratings of a program like the CBS Evening News in recent months.
Certainly, there has been a learning curve for such a remote show. Cain noted that the majority of those working on his program, logically, are located in either Washington, D.C. or New York. So he’s forced to be even more communicative.
“I’m on the phone all day long and texting all day long with the staff for both shows. I think that we do a really good job of communication,” he said.
With a background akin to Will Cain’s, it would be easy to think that he’s got everything figured out. After all, he spent time at CNN as a contributor before joining ESPN and ESPN Radio, where he saw his profile grow to a daily afternoon radio show on the network and regular appearances on the popular First Take alongside Stephen A. Smith.
But Cain admitted that the process of fine-tuning his craft, especially as a major part of the Fox News lineup — is onging.
“I am comfortable on television being myself and saying what I think,” he shared. “But I try to be a really self-aware person about the way ‘This is working, or not working.’ I’ll tell you: there are times when I do something and I can sometimes be a little professorial. I don’t ever want to be pedantic. So you think, ‘Ok, how can I do that in a better way?’ And the answer is I take what I say really seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously … I’m really comfortable with who I am, but I don’t think I’ve ever had to take any time to say find my voice or certainly not to find my point of view. but continue to shape that. And I think that’s part of what you’ll see evolve over time.”
Many in the industry have said they’ve felt “Imposter Syndrome.” Whether they feel inadequate, not prepared, or question why anyone would be invested in what they have to say.
Will Cain, however, said it’s something he’s never felt.
“I’ve never worried about my credibility,” he admitted. “I don’t wrap up my identity in all this. Who I am isn’t a big part of the story to me. I know that it is, and I know that the viewer needs to connect with you on a human level. But my reputation or my credibility are not things I ever think about. And I generally think people think about their own identities entirely too much. And your identity is the way that other people view.
“Do I ever worry about the way other people see me? I don’t. I just don’t,” he reiterated. “Because my identity’s not wrapped up in how they see me. It’s actually not even wrapped up in my opinion, too much. I’m a person with a lot of different things in this world that I care about, and love, and like, and am into.”
And while Will Cain is authentic to his core, his hope for the Fox News show is to emit even more authenticity to his viewers and listeners.
“I want it to be an even more authentic experience. More spontaneous, more happening in front of your eyes for the viewer, as we evolve,” he said. “I want it to become a place where the viewer understands, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I know it’s gonna be fun, entertaining, and enlightening.’ I don’t ever want it to feel canned, I don’t want it to be scripted. And I don’t want performance. I want this to be a place for people realize ‘We’re turning to this because this is different — in a good way — and it’s an experience that we are there with him live, every day.'”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
““I’ve never worried about my credibility,”
Nor does anyone else on Fox News.