Coming Back to the Morning Show?
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The rumor mill at Black Rock is officially in overdrive.
Norah O’Donnell is set to take a seat at the "CBS Mornings" table next week, a move that has industry insiders buzzing that the network is quietly testing the waters for her permanent return to the morning show she once led.
O’Donnell, who previously drove strong ratings during the "CBS This Morning" era alongside Gayle King and Charlie Rose, is scheduled to co-host Monday through Wednesday. While the official line is that she is in the Northeast for a book tour, veteran TV watchers aren't buying the "just passing through" narrative.
"If you are going to promote a book, you could do segments on it, you don’t have to have them co-host," noted one skeptical CBS insider. The decision to place her in the anchor chair for three days—rather than a standard guest appearance—looks suspiciously like a chemistry test with current anchors Gayle King and Nate Burleson as top brass looks to overhaul the struggling, last-place program.
Fueling the speculation are reports that CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has openly remarked on the formidable ratings O'Donnell and King delivered during their previous tenure—raising the question of whether the network is looking to capture that lightning in a bottle a second time.
While one source attempted to throw cold water on the theory, insisting O'Donnell is merely part of a "rotating cast" filling gaps until a permanent third co-host is named, the timing and the specific request from leadership for her to host during a hectic promotional tour suggest otherwise. For a network desperate to climb out of the ratings basement, O'Donnell's "guest" stint looks a lot like an audition.
