‘The Five’ Announces New Full-Time Co-Host
Fox News is making a major change to the lineup of its highest-rated program, filling a permanent seat that has been vacant for more than a year.
The move also means one familiar Fox personality will be leaving her longtime position on another popular daytime program.
Emily Compagno has been named a full-time co-host of The Five and will officially join the permanent lineup beginning September 8, Fox News announced.
Compagno will join Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, and Jesse Watters, while Harold Ford Jr. and Jessica Tarlov will continue sharing the program’s rotating liberal seat.
The move should be familiar to viewers because Compagno has regularly appeared on The Five as a rotating co-host.
She will fill the permanent seat previously occupied by Jeanine Pirro, who left Fox News in May 2025 and later became U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Compagno’s promotion also means she will leave Outnumbered, where she has served as a co-host since 2021.
Fox has not yet selected her permanent replacement, saying rotating Fox News personalities will occupy the seat until a new co-host is named.
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott praised Compagno while announcing the decision.
“Fifteen years later, The Five remains a powerhouse and appointment viewing for millions of Americans,” Scott said.
“Emily is a highly accomplished host whose energy and talent have made her a standout across FOX News Media, and we are thrilled to officially welcome her to the show.”
Compagno said she was honored to officially become part of a program she has frequently joined over the years.
“I couldn’t be more honored to join The Five, a team I have long admired and have been fortunate to work alongside over the years,” Compagno said.
“Having an official seat at the table on what I truly believe is the most fun show on television is an incredible privilege.”
Compagno’s promotion comes as The Five continues posting enormous ratings for Fox News.
The program celebrated its 15th anniversary in July and averaged 3.6 million viewers during the second quarter of 2026, according to Fox.
It also averaged 322,000 viewers in the coveted 25-to-54 demographic and recorded its 19th consecutive quarter as the highest-rated program in cable news.
Fox says The Five commands more than 64 percent of the cable news audience during its time slot and regularly competes with highly rated entertainment programming on broadcast television.
Compagno initially joined Fox News as a contributor in 2018 before becoming a permanent Outnumbered co-host three years later.
Before entering television, she practiced criminal defense and civil litigation and later worked as a federal managing attorney and acting director at the Social Security Administration.
Compagno also worked as a judicial extern for Judge John T. Noonan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and held legal positions internationally.
Before her legal and television careers, she served as captain of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad and was selected as an NFL ambassador, including participating in a USO tour visiting American troops in Iraq and Kuwait.
She is also the author of Under His Wings, which debuted atop Amazon and The New York Times bestseller list.
Compagno will now move from Fox’s daytime lineup into one of the most prominent positions at the network, Fox News reported.
And beginning September 8, the rotating role viewers have frequently seen her occupy on The Five becomes hers officially.
NBC Co-Hosts Launch Explosive Physical Brawl During Live Debate
NEW YORK — A high-profile morning political debate turned into absolute pandemonium inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Thursday when two seasoned NBC co-hosts engaged in a violent, on-set brawl on live national television. The unprecedented melee forced master control to pull the emergency plug, instantly severing the network’s live satellite feed and thrusting the broadcast giant into a severe operational and legal crisis.
The shocking confrontation played out in real time before millions of American households, triggering what broadcast historians are calling one of the most catastrophic on-air collapses in modern television history.
The Breaking Point: How Sharp Rhetoric Turned Physical
According to floor staff and internal network communications, the friction ignited during an open-panel discussion on breaking domestic policy. The co-hosts—routinely paired to generate sharp ideological contrast—quickly abandoned the day’s editorial rundown as policy friction escalated into vicious personal jabs.
Within seconds, the broadcast format completely collapsed:
The Initial Lunge: Following a biting verbal attack, one anchor slammed their palms onto the desk, rose from their chair, and lunged across the set to shove their colleague.
The Melee: The altercation instantly spiraled into a full-scale wrestling match over the anchor desk, sending high-end studio microphones crashing, shattering glassware, and scattering production rundown papers across the stage.
The Master Cut: Open studio audio captured gasps from crew members, heavy scuffling, and an open floor mic catching a panicked director screaming: “Cut the feed! Cut the feed now!”
The Blackout: Exactly four seconds after physical contact began, control room engineers terminated the live feed, replacing the chaotic scene with an abrupt slate of national commercials.
Security Swarms Set, Medical Deployed to 30 Rock
Immediately after the broadcast was cut, building security and floor managers swarmed the Studio 6A set to physically pry the two anchors apart.
On-site medical staff treated both individuals for minor contusions and abrasions sustained during the fall over the anchor platform. Following on-site evaluation, corporate security escorted both commentators out of 30 Rockefeller Plaza through separate exits to prevent further escalation.
Network Issues Indefinite Suspensions, Evaluates Legal Fallout
Late Thursday afternoon, NBC News corporate leadership issued an emergency statement confirming swift disciplinary action:
“NBC News maintains an uncompromising commitment to workplace safety and professional conduct. Physical violence of any description is completely unacceptable. Both on-air contributors have been suspended indefinitely without pay pending an internal investigation and legal consultation.”
Clips capturing the moments leading up to the blacked-out feed exploded across social media within minutes, racking up tens of millions of views across X, TikTok, and YouTube, while igniting widespread public outcry over the deteriorating state of national broadcast discourse.
Industry Fallout: The Breaking Point of Partisan Panel Formats
The shocking clash has ignited an industry-wide reckoning over the risks of high-friction television formats:
Workplace Liability & OSHA Scrutiny: Broadcast networks face severe legal liability when on-air debate formats escalate into physical workplace violence.
Advertiser Sensitivity: Major commercial sponsors are closely monitoring the network’s disciplinary measures, with media buyers warning that extreme volatility endangers high-value morning ad slots.
Panel Format Reassessment: Media analysts predict the brawl will force network executives to overhaul live debate segments, pivoting away from explosive ideological collisions in favor of heavily structured, lower-risk moderation.
As NBC legal and human resources executives review unedited high-definition studio tapes, the Studio 6A brawl remains a stark reminder of the volatile edge facing unscripted live television.
This is a developing media report. Further network statements and talent updates will follow as internal reviews proceed.
