Back to work: Rachel Maddow returning to MSNBC five nights a week for early Trump days

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Rachel Maddow is returning to her nightly perch on MSNBC — at least for the first few months of the second Trump administration.

The network announced on Monday that Maddow will lead its coverage of Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 and, starting that night, begin airing her prime-time show five nights a week at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Maddow's new schedule will last until April 30, at which time she'll revert to her current Monday-only routine with Alex Wagner occupying the time slot on Tuesdays through Fridays. Wagner will go on the road for various reporting assignments during the first 100 days of the new administration.

Maddow stepped back from her five-night-a-week television schedule in 2022 under a new contract that has allowed her more flexibility to pursue other projects. She has launched a successful round of podcasts.

Yet even with her more limited television schedule, she remains MSNBC's signature personality and most popular host. Last year Maddow's show averaged 2.5 million viewers on Mondays, that audience swelling by 866,000 through the week when time-shifted viewers are figured in, the Nielsen company said.

Maddow will also be the lead anchor for the network's coverage of Trump's inauguration, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern next Monday.

The left-leaning network's viewership sunk dramatically following Trump's victory in November's election, and MSNBC is waiting to see whether it will become a leading destination for the Trump opposition. MSNBC argues that a post-election slump is typical for a network with an audience dominated by supporters of the losing candidate, and that viewers are slowly starting to return.

Maddow's audience last Monday was 1.6 million, up 20 percent compared its November and December average, the network said.

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social