The Five (talk show)

American panel talk television series

For the British crime drama series, see The Five (TV series).

The Five

Genre|

* Talk show
* News program

Created by| Roger Ailes
Presented by|

* Greg Gutfeld
* Dana Perino
* Jesse Watters
* Jessica Tarlov
* Harold Ford Jr.

No. of seasons| 13
Production
Production location| New York City
Running time| 60 minutes
Production company| Fox News
Original release
Network| Fox News Channel
Release| July 11, 2011 (2011-07-11) –
present

The Five is an American conservative political talk show on Fox News Channel in which full-time hosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, and alternating hosts Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. discuss current stories, political issues, and pop culture. The one-hour show premiered on July 11, 2011, and airs live weekdays at 5 p.m. ET, with repeat episodes airing at 5 a.m. ET and 5 p.m. ET on Saturdays.[1]

## Format

[edit]

According to the initial Fox News press release announcing The Five, the show features a "roundtable ensemble of five rotating Fox personalities who [...] discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news stories, controversies and issues of the day."[2] In the video section of Fox News' website, it is promoted as "the hot topics that have everyone talking from the five voices that will have everyone listening."[3]

Episodes typically begin with one of the hosts naming themselves and their fellow panelists, before reciting the show's opening catchphrase: "It's five o'clock in New York City, and this is The Five."

Former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes said the format for the show was inspired by chat-oriented programs such as The View; it has also been compared to the "Great American Panel" segment on Fox News' Hannity.[4]

The show is made up of six blocks. Each of the first five blocks is introduced, closed and loosely moderated by a different co-host. The co-host's block may have a single topic or multiple topics. The final block is a brief wrap-up segment called "One More Thing."

## Hosts

[edit]

Daily hosts

* Greg Gutfeld: (2011–present) writer and host of Gutfeld!
* Dana Perino: (2011–present) co-anchor of America's Newsroom and former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush
* Jesse Watters: (2017–present) host of Jesse Watters Primetime

Alternating liberal hosts

* Jessica Tarlov: (2022–present) Fox News contributor
* Harold Ford Jr.: (2022–present) former Tennessee Congressman, Fox News contributor

Former hosts

* Andrea Tantaros: (2011–2014) Departed the program after being named co-host of Outnumbered. Later left the network after accusing former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment.[5]
* Bob Beckel: (2011–2015, 2017) Originally departed the program to join CNN, then returned in early 2017 and was later fired after allegedly making racist remarks to a co-worker.[6]
* Eric Bolling: (2011–2017) Left the program after he was named co-host of Fox News Specialists, was later fired from the network after he was accused of sexual harassment.
* Kimberly Guilfoyle: (2011–2018) Abruptly left Fox News in July 2018 to work for the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign.[7]
* Juan Williams: (2011–2021) Departed the program to remain in Washington D.C. with his family after the show was moved back to in-studio production after Memorial Day in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. Williams had been broadcasting from home in D.C. for the entirety of the pandemic. He remains with Fox as a senior political analyst.[8]
* Geraldo Rivera: (2022–2023) Announced on Twitter that he would be leaving the program after June 30, 2023. Hours before his scheduled appearance on the show he announced that he had been fired from The Five and that he quit Fox after 23 years as a result. Rivera had been seen less frequently on the program after numerous on air spats with co-hosts Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters.[9]
* Jeanine Pirro: (2022–2025) Left the network on May 8, 2025 after she was tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as the interim U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia.[10]

## Reception

[edit]

Reaction to the show among critics has been mostly positive, though the week it premiered, Alex Pareene, columnist for the website Salon, slammed it as "boring and lame" and "not even worth getting outraged about."[11] Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker dubbed the show his "favorite guilty pleasure" and praised its freewheeling style and zany humor, calling it "a delightfully nutty show with an undercurrent of ragin' crazy."[12] Mediaite's Frances Martel, examining cable news' shift toward more personality-driven commentary, praised The Five for adding an element of entertainment to the news:

> Beyond having opinions, the new generation of cable news talk shows spearheaded by The Five have personalities, characters and character arcs that are worth tuning in for. ... Unlike the previous, host-driven generation of opinion shows, The Five adds a refreshing new element to cable news—a plot.[13]

In 2014, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart echoed these sentiments when their "correspondent" Samantha Bee debuted her "one-woman show" about the supposed romantic subplot on The Five.[14]

The show's loose and uncensored structure has led it into some minor controversies, particularly involving co-host Bob Beckel's on-air profanity[15] and insensitive remarks. In August 2011, Beckel was forced to apologize on-air when, while trying to clarify an earlier remark wherein he called Michael Vick a "redneck," said the term was not racial, because "blacks are rednecks, whites are rednecks, I was a redneck, Chinamen are rednecks."[16] Beckel was later compelled to apologize for using the term "Chinamen". The music the show's producers use to lead in and out of segments has also led to controversy, such as an incident in 2011 that prompted a Twitter war between Adam Levine and various Fox News personalities, over the producers' use of a song from Levine's band Maroon 5.[17]

In April 2017, just two days after joining the show, co-host Jesse Watters came under scrutiny for a suggestive joke about the way Ivanka Trump was speaking into a microphone. The day after Watters made the comments, he announced that he would be "taking a vacation" for the remainder of the week amid calls for his firing.[18]

The success of the show has resulted in Fox News Media debuting several other talk shows such as Outnumbered in 2014, Gutfeld! in 2021, The Big Weekend Show in 2023 as well as The Big Money Show and The Bottom Line w/ Dagen & Duffy on Fox Business.

On March 28, 2024, it was reported that former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski was suing liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov for $30 million after comments she made regarding allegations that a Trump Super-Pac was paying Bobulinki's legal bills, a claim that he denies. Tarlov made an on air correction the day after she made those comments saying “I have seen no indication those payments were made in connection with Mr. Bobulinski’s legal fees and he denies that they were.”[19]

## Programming announcements and changes

[edit]

On October 3, 2011, after successful ratings and high popularity, Fox News announced that The Five would become a permanent series, as the program had previously been announced to last only during the summer.[20]

In 2013, The Five was the second-most-watched program in all of cable news in the United States, placing only behind The O'Reilly Factor,[21][22] also on the Fox News Channel. The program has occasionally been the number one rated cable news series in the key 25 to 54 viewing demographic.[23]

Co-host Andrea Tantaros left the show in 2014 after she was named co-host of Outnumbered.

On February 27, 2017, the program was moved to Studio F with a graphics makeover.[24]

On April 24, 2017, The Five moved to the 9 p.m. hour, following the cancellation of The O'Reilly Factor.[25]

In May 2017, liberal co-host Bob Beckel was fired from Fox News due to racism allegations.

On September 25, 2017, The Five returned to its original 5 p.m. time slot to satisfy viewer preference.[26]

In July 2018, founding co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle departed the program.[27]

Donna Brazile, former head of the Democratic National Committee who joined the network from 2019 and 2021, served as a guest host on the program.[28]

On May 26, 2021, the shows founding liberal co-host Juan Williams announced he would be leaving the program to stay with his family in Washington D.C. after the show returned to in studio production in NYC.

In January 2022, The Five announced Jeanine Pirro would be named co-host of the program along with rotating liberal co-hosts Geraldo Rivera, Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr.

On June 21, 2023, liberal rotating host Geraldo Rivera announced he would be departing the program on June 30, 2023.[29] On June 29, 2023, he announced that he had been fired from the show hours before his scheduled appearance.[30]

Co-host Jeanine Pirro departed the program on May 8, 2025 after being named U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia by Donald Trump.[31]

## Ratings

[edit]

Initially airing as a replacement for Glenn Beck's program after his departure from the network, The Five debuted in July 2011 to modest ratings, but still handily won its time slot.[32] The show gained broader success within weeks of airing, even rivaling Beck's former audience share on some afternoons.[4] By late August, The Five was consistently beating its competitors on MSNBC and CNN combined and ranked among the top ten cable news shows.[33] Additionally, the show proved to be more friendly to advertisers, who were previously reluctant to be associated with the controversial content of Beck's show.[33]

The Five was the sixth-most-watched cable news program during the latter half of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012;[34][35] it had jumped to fourth place by the third quarter of 2012,[36] pulling in especially high numbers during the 2012 Republican Convention.[37] The Five drew 4.4 million viewers on Election Day 2012.[38]

By 2013, The Five was the second-most-watched program in all of cable news, placing behind The O'Reilly Factor,[21] although the show was eclipsed on many nights by The Kelly File, which aired from 2013 to 2017.

In April 2022, The Five became the number one show on cable, even out performing Tucker Carlson Tonight and the rest of Fox News' primetime lineup in the ratings.[39]

By the end of the second quarter of 2022, The Five became the most watched show in cable news, beating every single Fox News, CNN and MSNBC primetime shows in the ratings with an average of 3.3 million viewers.[40]

The Five closed out 2022 as the most watched non-primetime show in cable news history for an entire year, averaging 3.5 million viewers.[41]

Following Fox News firing primetime host Tucker Carlson, the network saw a significant drop in viewership. In mid-2023, The Five was averaging between 2.5–2.7 million viewers per night. The program still held its title as the number one show in not only cable news, but all of cable.[42]

The program closed out 2023 as the most watched show in all of Cable News as well as making history as the most watched non-primetime show for the second consecutive year in a row, averaging 2.9 million viewers.[43]

The Five closed out the first quarter of 2024 averaging 3.04 million viewers and continues to break records by becoming the first non-primetime program ever to top all of cable news for ten consecutive quarters.[44]

On July 15, 2024, the show notched its highest rated episode to date, bringing in 5.5 million viewers. This was The Five's first episode since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, as well as its first day broadcasting at the 2024 Republican National Convention.[45]

## Location

[edit]

The Five is recorded live at 5 pm. ET from Studio M at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building), New York City. On February 27, 2017, The Five relocated to Studio M from its original filming location in Studio D.[46]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Five". Fox News. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
2. ^ Stelter, Brian (June 30, 2011). "Fox News to Replace Beck With 'The Five'". Media Decoder: Behind the Screens, Between the Lines. The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
3. ^ "The Five". Fox News. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
4. ^ a b Stelter, Brian. In Beck's Shadow, Rise of 'The Five'. New York Times. December 25, 2011. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
5. ^ "Inside Andrea Tantaros' Disappearance from Fox News". August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
6. ^ "Bob Beckel fired from Fox News' "The Five" after racist remark". NBC News. May 19, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
7. ^ Kirby, Jen (July 27, 2018). "Kimberly Guilfoyle allegedly left Fox News amid accusations of sexual misconduct". Vox. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
8. ^ "Liberal Juan Williams leaves Fox News' 'The Five,' citing COVID-19 experience as show returns to studio". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
9. ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 29, 2023). "Geraldo Rivera's Long Career at Fox News Appears to End". Variety. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
10. ^ "Trump appoints Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as top prosecutor in DC". ABC News. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
11. ^ Pareene, Alex. "Fox's 'The Five' off to slow, boring start". Salon. July 13, 2011.
12. ^ Tucker, Ken. "'The Five': The Fox News Channel's most delightfully crazy show". Entertainment Weekly. November 7, 2011.
13. ^ Martel, Frances. The NYT Profiles Fox News' The Five: 'Like A Family At Thanksgiving'. Mediaite.com. 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
14. ^ Feldman, Josh. "The Daily Show Puts on Insane, Creepy, and AMAZING Dedication to Fox's The Five". Mediaite.com. January 14, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
15. ^ "Bob Beckel Curses Yet Again On Fox News". The Huffington Post. September 30, 2011.
16. ^ "Beckel Proves He's Not Prejudiced: 'Redneck' Could Refer To Whites, Blacks, Or 'Chinamen'". Mediaite. August 19, 2011.
17. ^ Michaels, Sean. "Maroon 5's Adam Levine goes to war with 'evil' Fox News". The Guardian. October 21, 2011. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
18. ^ Victor, Daniel (April 27, 2017). "Jesse Watters of Fox Announces Vacation After Ivanka Trump Comment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
19. ^ "Fox News Host Sued for Defamation by Former Biden Business Partner". National Review. March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 3, 2011). "Glenn Beck's Temporary Replacement On Fox News 'The Five' To Become Permanent". Deadline. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
21. ^ a b "Fox's The Five #2 Among All Cable News In Demo And Total Viewers". Mediaite. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
22. ^ "Fox News' Hit "The Five" Marks Two-Year Milestone". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
23. ^ "Friday Cable News Ratings - December 20, 2013 - Mediaite". mediaite.com. December 23, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
24. ^ "'The Five' moves to Fox News' Studio F". Retrieved June 13, 2018.
25. ^ "Laura Ingraham Gets Fox News Show at 10 p.m.; Sean Hannity Moves to 9 p.m." www.adweek.com. September 18, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
26. ^ "Cable News Ratings - January 22, 2013 - Mediaite". mediaite.com. January 23, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
27. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (July 20, 2018). "Kimberly Guilfoyle, Co-Host of 'The Five,' is Leaving Fox News". The New York Times.
28. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 18, 2019). "Donna Brazile, Former Democratic Party Chair, Is Hired by Fox News". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
29. ^ "JUST IN: Fox News' Geraldo Rivera Announces He's Off 'The Five'". Mediaite. June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
30. ^ Weprin, Alex (June 29, 2023). "Geraldo Rivera Says He Quit His Job at Fox News After Being "Fired" From 'The Five'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
31. ^ "Trump says he is naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in DC". AP News. May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
32. ^ 'The Five' Debuts On Fox News To Lower Ratings Than Beck. The Huffington Post. July 13, 2011.
33. ^ a b Summer Of Gutfeld? Strong Ratings For Both Red Eye And The Five. Mediaite. August 30, 2011.
34. ^ 'The Five' Gets Permanent Spot In Fox News Lineup. The Huffington Post. October 3, 2011.
35. ^ Cable News Ratings: Top 30 Programs For First Quarter Of 2012. The Huffington Post. March 28, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
36. ^ Cable News Ratings Q3 2012: MSNBC Breaks Records, CNN Up From Last Quarter. The Huffington Post. October 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
37. ^ "Monday Ratings: The Five Has Highest-Rated Show To Date". mediaite.com. August 28, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
38. ^ Cable News Ratings for Tuesday, November 6, 2012. TVBytheNumbers.com. November 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
39. ^ "Fox News Channel's 'The Five' is the Most-Watched Show in Cable News with 3.6 Million Viewers". Forbes.
40. ^ "The Five Sets New Cable Record in Second Quarter of 2022 – MSNBC Rebounds in June". June 29, 2022.
41. ^ "Fox News' 'The Five' topples 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' to become new cable news ratings leader". Los Angeles Times. December 19, 2022.
42. ^ Johnson, Ted (May 31, 2023). "Fox News Tops May Ratings But Sees Viewership Fall After Dropping Tucker Carlson From Primetime". Deadline. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
43. ^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (December 14, 2023). "Fox News top-rated cable channel for eighth straight year". The Hill. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
44. ^ Johnson, Ted (April 2, 2024). "Fox News Tops Q1 And March Ratings, MSNBC And CNN Show Biggest Growth Vs. 2023". Deadline. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
45. ^ "Media Relations | Fox News". Retrieved July 17, 2024.
46. ^ Katz, A.J. (February 27, 2017). "'F' is For 'The Five'". TVNewser. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Five on Facebook

Preceded by

The Will Cain Show

|  The Five
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm  | Succeeded by

Special Report with Bret Baier

|
|

* v
* t
* e

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