Alex Wagner to succeed Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, becoming the only Asian American to currently host a prime-time cable news program

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MSNBC has announced that Alex Wagner will take over Rachel Maddow’s 9p hour timeslot four days a week. Wagner’s new show name has not been announced yet but will debut on August 16th and air Tuesdays through Fridays. Maddow, who reached a deal with MSNBC earlier this year to scale back her duties, will continue to host “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Mondays at 9p.

MSNBC says Wagner is now the only Asian American to host a prime-time cable news program. Before Wagner, only a handful of Asian Americans have hosted prime-time cable news programs including Joie Chen and Connie Chung.

“I’m honored to be anchoring a key hour of television in such a critical time for American democracy,” Wagner said in a statement. “In many ways, the stakes have never been higher, and there’s no better place to explore this moment than MSNBC. I’m thrilled to be coming home.” Previously, Wagner hosted “Now with Alex Wagner” at MSNBC from 2011 - 2015, and she returned to MSNBC earlier this year as a senior political analyst.