“Extra” correspondent Melvin Robert will be joining KTLA 5’s “Morning News” as its new entertainment reporter, TheWrap has learned. Robert will be filling the void left by local legend Sam Rubin, who passed away last year.
Robert’s first day on the morning show will be next Monday, a person with knowledge of the hiring told TheWrap; he will be leaving his role at “Extra,” where he has been a senior correspondent since 2022, as he joins KTLA.
Rubin’s passing at the age of 64 from a heart attack in May 2024 rocked KTLA, where he had been its lead entertainment reporter since 1991. The local stalwart received multiple Emmy wins, a Golden Mike award, a lifetime achievement award from the Southern California Broadcasters Association and was named best entertainment reporter by the Los Angeles Press Club during his 33 year run at channel 5.
Since last May, KTLA 5 has had a rotating cast of reporters fill Rubin’s seat, including Scott Mantz and Jeremy Parsons.
Variety was the first to report the news Wednesday.
The 41-year-old Robert is a hometown hire for KTLA; he grew up in Inglewood and attended Loyola Marymount University. He is already familiar with the station, after interning there as a teenager and later working on “Morning News” from 2016 to 2018.
“I am overjoyed and humbled to join the KTLA 5 family,” Robert said in a statement. “This show carries such an iconic legacy, and I can’t wait to collaborate with so many people who I love, respect and admire. I believe so deeply in the power of connection and the transformative power that it holds to unite us all.”
He added: “That’s what morning television is all about, and that’s what the arts are all about, pulling us all together and giving us insight into our shared humanity.”
Starting Monday, Robert will be sitting alongside anchors Jessica Holmes and Frank Buckley and weather reporter Mark Kriski. Terms of his deal were not disclosed.
“I am thrilled to welcome Melvin to the KTLA Morning News and our Entertainment team,” KTLA 5 News Director Erica Hill-Rodriguez said in a statement. “We can’t wait for our viewers to start their mornings with his insight into the world of entertainment and to experience the love he has for the community that has been his lifelong home.”