CNN has attached a name and a launch date for Kaitlan Collins’ new primetime show.
“The Source with Kaitlan Collins” is set to premiere in its 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Monday, July 10. The new show, whose name vaguely references the network’s now-canceled “Reliable Sources,” hosted by Brian Stelter, will replace “CNN Primetime,” in the 9 p.m. hour, which Collins has been hosting over the past few weeks.
The new show will officially shift Collins off of “CNN This Morning” to primetime, leaving Collins’ co-host Poppy Harlow to host the morning program with a rotation of CNN guest anchors without a permanent co-host. While former CEO Chris Licht, who was ousted from the network in early June, lined up the re-imagined morning program in fall 2022 with Collins, Harlow and Don Lemon, the trio has since been broken up after Lemon exited the network in April.
When Collins’ primetime move was announced in May, the network said it would share more information about the future of “CNN This Morning” in the months ahead.
“In her new program, officially launching later this summer, Kaitlan will showcase why she’s one of the top reporters and interviewers in the game,” then CNN boss Licht said in a press release announcing the show. “She is a smart and gifted journalist who we’ve all seen hold lawmakers and newsmakers accountable. She pushes politicians off their talking points, gets real answers — and as everyone who’s worked with her knows — breaks a lot of news.”
After joining the network in 2017, Collins is best known for serving as the moderator of the CNN town hall with former President Donald Trump in May, which was highly criticized by many viewers. Licht defended Collins, praising her for a “masterful performance” and saying that he “couldn’t be more proud of her.”
”Kaitlan pressed [Trump] again and again and made news,” Licht said on a call to CNN staff after the town hall event.
