Fox News Channel, which has been reworking large parts of its programming schedule in the aftermath of the 2020 election, said it would launch new weekend programs hosted by conservative firebrand Dan Bongino and former South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy.
Gowdy will host a 7 p.m. program on Sundays while Bongino will lead a 10 p.m. program on Saturday. Fox News said its “The Big Saturday Show” and “The Big Sunday Show,” which have been airing at 5 p.m. on weekends, will become a permanent part of the schedule. The programs will launch in hours that in the recent past have been used for repeats. As part of the programming changes, Bongino’s popular radio program, which airs on Cumulus-owned radio station during a time slot once occupied by Rush Limbaugh, will stream on Fox Nation, the network’s subscription-based video service.
The two hosts will bolster the network’s right-leaning bona fides. Bongino is a Fox News contributor whose profile has been expanding. He has filled in on occasion on the network’s primetime schedule, and often demonstrates a decidedly more and his new show will follow programs from Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro, two conservative stalwarts. Gowdy’s program will help kick off Sunday primetime, which is also populated by conservative host Mark Levin.
Both Gowdy and Bongino have been among a set of rotating hosts who have filled in the network’s 7 p.m. slot after a decision to move news anchor Martha MacCallum’s program out of early evenings.
Gowdy’s Sunday program will air live and will focus on legal and political news, and also take time to focus on what the network called “original stories of triumph and success from across the country.” He joined Fox News as a contributor in January 2019 and also hosts a Fox News podcast. His show will begin on June 6. Bongino’s program is likely to center on liberty and security, among other topics, and will begin on June 5, and his three-hour radio program will start streaming at Fox Nation on May 25.
“The Big Saturday Show” and “The Big Sunday Show” are panel programs in the vein of Fox News weekday offerings like “The Five” or “Outnumbered.”