''Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire'' is an American morning news show that airs weekday mornings on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
. The network has had shows with the title ''Way Too Early'', both with and without the name of the host at the time, during two different time periods.
The first incarnation of ''Way Too Early'' premiered on July 27, 2009, hosted by
Willie Geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...
. It was later hosted by a variety of
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
on-air talent, including Thomas Roberts and others on a temporary basis, including
Ayman Mohyeldin
Ayman ( ar, أيمن, also spelled as Aiman, Aimen, Aymen, or Eymen in the Latin alphabet) is an Arabic masculine given name. It is derived from the Arabic Semitic root () for ''right'', and literally means ''righteous'', ''he who is on the right'' ...
. The final host was Chief White House Correspondent
Chris Jansing
Christine Ann Kapostasy-Jansing (born January 30, 1957) is an American television journalist. She anchors ''Chris Jansing Reports'' airing from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET weekdays on MSNBC, having replaced ''MTP Daily'' in May 2022.
Jan ...
. It 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. Another apparent reason for the name change was that the 5 a.m. timeslot had become nearly universally programmed as a morning news slot on local television stations in both the
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
Time Zones, making the title ''Way Too Early'' an artifact.
On September 10, 2020, it was announced that ''Way Too Early'' would return to the air with
Kasie Hunt
Kasie Sue Hunt (born May 24, 1985) is an American political correspondent for CNN. From 2013 to 2021, she was NBC News' Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and was the host of MSNBC's ''Way Too ...
as the new host, starting on September 21.
On July 16, 2021, Kasie Hunt announced she was delivering her final broadcast and would be joining CNN. On October 25, 2021, MSNBC announced that Jonathan Lemire would be the new host of the show.
History
Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, announced the show on July 15, 2009, and described it as a "pre-game show" for ''Morning Joe''. Mike Barnicle often filled in for original host
Willie Geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...
, jokingly referring to the show as "''Way Too Old'' (or ''Elderly'') with Mike Barnicle", while
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
also covered for Geist. On September 24, 2012,
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
announced that Geist would be named co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'', filling the co-host slot formerly held by
Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
(who now anchors the 7-9 a.m. portion of the morning program).
The original executive producer was
Chris Licht
Christopher Andrew Licht (born October 22, 1971) is an American television newsman and producer. Since May 2022, he has been the chairman and CEO of CNN. He is best known as the showrunner and executive producer of ''The Late Show With Stephen Co ...
, who was also the co-creator and executive producer of ''
Morning Joe
''Morning Joe'' is an American morning news and liberal talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough reporting and discu ...
'' 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
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
" like ''
Morning Joe
''Morning Joe'' is an American morning news and liberal talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough reporting and discu ...
'' 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
Brian A. Shactman is an American journalist for CNBC and MSNBC.
Biography
Shactman grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, the son of Nancy and David Shactman. He graduated from Phillips Exeter AcademyThomas 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
Kasie Sue Hunt (born May 24, 1985) is an American political correspondent for CNN. From 2013 to 2021, she was NBC News' Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and was the host of MSNBC's ''Way Too ...
as the new host, effectively replacing '' Morning Joe First Look'', starting on September 21.
On July 16, 2021,
Kasie Hunt
Kasie Sue Hunt (born May 24, 1985) is an American political correspondent for CNN. From 2013 to 2021, she was NBC News' Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and was the host of MSNBC's ''Way Too ...
announced she was delivering her final broadcast.
Way Too Early had no permanent host until October 25, 2021, when MSNBC and Morning Joe co-hosts
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of ''Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarbo ...
and
Mika Brzezinski
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski Scarborough (; pl, Brzezińska; born May 2, 1967) is an American talk show host, liberal political commentator, and author who currently co-hosts MSNBC's weekday morning broadcast show ''Morning Joe''. She was forme ...
announced that Jonathan Lemire will be the new host of the show.
Segments
Regular segments on ''Way Too Early'' have included:
*Three Questions – Beginning the show with three video clips of newsworthy events from the previous day, and posing an open-ended question relating to them.
*The News – A fast-paced round-up of the previous day's and overnight news.
*All Up In Your Business – Business and market-related news, with analysis from the
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk s ...
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
bureau.
*The Weather – National forecast from
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...
, currently provided by NBC meteorologist
Bill Karins
William J. Karins (born April 14, 1974) is an American meteorologist, working for NBC News. He is currently seen primarily on NBC's ''Early Today'' and '' Top Story with Tom Llamas''. He also occasionally reports weekdays for MSNBC's '' First ...
.
*Sports – Highlights of the top sports stories.
*Morning Buzz – A "wake-up call" phone segment to a prominent figure, celebrity, correspondent, or politician to discuss a news topic.
*Sound Smart – Random fact or some other piece of information to help you "sound smart" during the day.
*The Cooler – Soft news stories and other conversation starters.
*Louis Burgdorf from the Control Room – Near the end of the program, Burgdorf rounds up feature, offbeat and entertainment headlines from the program's Rockefeller Center control room.
*Why Are You Up? - Viewers are asked to write in with their personal reasons for being up so early.
Hosts
*
Willie Geist
William Russell Geist (born May 3, 1975) is an American television personality and journalist. He is co-anchor of MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' and anchor of ''Sunday Today with Willie Geist''. Geist also frequently serves as a fill-in anchor on bot ...
– (2009–2012)
*
Brian Shactman
Brian A. Shactman is an American journalist for CNBC and MSNBC.
Biography
Shactman grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, the son of Nancy and David Shactman. He graduated from Phillips Exeter AcademyThomas Roberts – (2014–2015)
*
Amy Holmes
Amy Mulenga Holmes (born July 25, 1973) is a Zambian-born American journalist and political commentator. Holmes co-hosts, with fellow commentator Michael Gerson, a politically conservative-oriented talk show on PBS titled ''In Principle.'' She is ...
– (2015–2016)
*
Chris Jansing
Christine Ann Kapostasy-Jansing (born January 30, 1957) is an American television journalist. She anchors ''Chris Jansing Reports'' airing from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET weekdays on MSNBC, having replaced ''MTP Daily'' in May 2022.
Jan ...
– (2016)
*
Frances Rivera
Frances Rivera (born 1970) is a Filipino-American journalist and television news anchor. For ten years, until August 2011, she was a television reporter and anchor for Boston's NBC affiliate, WHDH. From 2011-2013, she was a morning news anchor fo ...
– (2016)
*
Kasie Hunt
Kasie Sue Hunt (born May 24, 1985) is an American political correspondent for CNN. From 2013 to 2021, she was NBC News' Capitol Hill correspondent, covering Congress across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, and was the host of MSNBC's ''Way Too ...
– (2020–2021)
* Jonathan Lemire - (2021–present)MSNBC announces on October 25, 2021 that Jonathan Lemire will be Hunts replacement.
Substitute hosts
Substitute hosts for the show have included
Luke Russert
Lucas Russert (born August 22, 1985), best known as Luke Russert, is an American broadcast news correspondent, who worked for NBC News from 2008 to 2016. His reporting was seen on ''NBC Nightly News'', ''TODAY'', NBCNews.com, and MSNBC. He also w ...
,
Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie (born December 27, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist and attorney. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News, morning show ''Today'', a position she has held since July 2012.
Guthrie joined NBC News in September 2 ...
,
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to:
* Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player
* Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
Alex Witt
Alexandra E. Witt (born April 9, 1961) is an American television news journalist based in New York City who currently hosts the television news program '' Alex Witt Reports'' from 12pm to 2pm on MSNBC, where she previously hosted ''MSNBC Live'' ...
, Sam Stein and
Mark Halperin
Mark Evan Halperin (born January 11, 1965)Mark Halperin. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Context. is an American journalist, currently a host and commentator for Newsmax TV. Halperin previously worked as ...
, with
Bill Karins
William J. Karins (born April 14, 1974) is an American meteorologist, working for NBC News. He is currently seen primarily on NBC's ''Early Today'' and '' Top Story with Tom Llamas''. He also occasionally reports weekdays for MSNBC's '' First ...
and Louis Burgdorf having hosted the entire program.