After more than two months off, Rachel Maddow is finally returning to helm her nightly MSNBC show. She’ll return to host “The Rachel Maddow Show” full time on Monday, April 11, individuals with knowledge of the matter tell TheWrap.
Maddow took her hiatus on Jan. 31, explaining to viewers that she would be working in some unspecified capacity on the film adaptation of her podcast “Bag Man.” The movie, directed by Ben Stiller for Focus Features, tracks the true story of one of the most brazen political bribery scandals in American history, involving Richard Nixon’s first vice president Spiro Agnew just as the Watergate scandal was beginning to peak.
Alongside the podcast, Maddow wrote a companion book of the same with Michael Yarvitz that asks if it is possible for an American vice president to carry out a criminal enterprise inside the White House and have nobody remember or notice. The movie’s script is by Adam Perlman, who wrote it with Stiller and Yarvitz.
Stiller produced “Bag Man” along with Lorne Michaels, Yarvitz and Josh McLaughlin. Maddow served as an executive producer along with Nicky Weinstock, Michael Price, Erin David and Andrew Singer.
As Maddow returns, big questions remain about her role at MSNBC. It was reported last year that she wants to transition away from her nightly show, MSNBC’s highest rated show. She eventually signed a new $30 million — though insiders deny that specific amount — per year deal that will keep her at the channel through 2024 election, though individuals with knowledge of the matter say she’ll eventually be hosting fewer shows per week while working on longer form projects.