The 11th Hour with Ali Velshi

History and format

The show launched on September 6, 2016, as a temporary program wrapping up election news of the day and previewing top stories for the next morning, replacing a rerun of All In with Chris Hayes. It was Brian Williams' second MSNBC primetime show, following The News with Brian Williams from 1996 to 2002. Initially airing Monday through Thursday for a half hour, with the last half hour of Hardball following, the program expanded to Fridays in January 2017 and to one hour daily on March 20, 2017.

MSNBC officially extended it to an hour on April 13, 2017, despite its temporary billing. Under Williams, the program featured interviews with reporters, panels of former government officials and subject matter experts, and occasional politicians, avoiding conflict-ridden panels. Interviews were live or taped close to air time for immediacy. Similar to the original Nightline, it focused on the presidency of Donald Trump, with Williams noting the days since the Trump presidency began and days until the next election.

The show ends with The Last Thing Before We Go, a segment featuring a missed news story and a closing statement. Nicolle Wallace and Eugene Robinson provided commentary on most 2016 editions; Wallace also substituted for Williams, leading to her own show, Deadline: White House.

Broadcast

The program originates from MSNBC's Studio 3A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, later shifting to MS NOW's base during the network's rebrand. When breaking news occurs, it can run past midnight Eastern, bumping a Rachel Maddow Show repeat on Mondays or The Briefing with Jen Psaki the rest of the week. Frequent fill-in hosts are Alicia Menendez, Melissa Murray, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Catherine Rampell, and Ayman Mohyeldin.