Melissa Harris-Perry (TV program)
Weekend MSNBC talk show exploring politics and culture.
Melissa Harris-Perry is a weekend-morning current affairs and political commentary program that aired on MSNBC from 2012 to 2016. Hosted by the African-American author and academic Melissa Harris-Perry, the show was notable for its focus on the intersections of culture, art, and community within national politics. The program ended after four years when MSNBC cancelled it in February 2016 following a dispute between the host and the network.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Current affairs; Political commentary
- Presenter
- Melissa Harris-Perry
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Location
- New York City
- Runtime
- 120 minutes
- Channel
- MSNBC
- First aired
- 18 February 2012
Facts from the source article.
Format
The program featured panel discussions on national politics while exploring the African-American intersections of culture, art, and community. Its two-hour running time allowed for a more diverse pool of guests, often new to cable news. Harris-Perry said the weekend slot gave the show more breathing room to respond to the weekly news cycle. She encouraged viewer interaction via Twitter using the #nerdland hashtag. The show emphasized pop culture to expand the idea of what is considered political, and often invited academics, activist Hollywood stars, struggling actresses, makeup ladies, and underrepresented voices instead of typical political pundits. Harris-Perry also discussed politics outside the beltway, including politics of the South.
History
Before the show was announced, Melissa Harris-Perry had appeared frequently as a political analyst on MSNBC and had guest-hosted prime-time programs The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. In January 2012, MSNBC announced she would host her own program as part of the weekend lineup. Harris-Perry credited Rachel Maddow for raising her profile on the network by making her a regular guest and then a guest host. MSNBC president Phil Griffin described an episode of Maddow that Harris-Perry hosted in summer 2011 as phenomenal and jaw-dropping. Harris-Perry remained a professor of political science at Wake Forest University and commuted to New York City every weekend to host. She said she was a professor first and accepted the opportunity because it did not require her to give up teaching, though the academic-broadcaster schedule blew up her entire life. The show was originally scheduled to launch on February 4, 2012, but was pushed back two weeks, debuting on February 18. During its run, Harris-Perry was one of the few African American women with a regular position in cable news and said she took her position very seriously, hoping to emulate Gwen Ifill and Soledad O'Brien.
Reception
Frances Martel of Mediaite noted the show's discussion of cultural issues and said its first episode brought to the table conversations that are as important as they are interesting and achieved the most difficult thing in cable news: uniqueness. Ron Simon, a curator at the Paley Center for Media, called the show a nice counterpoint to older, male-dominated weekend shows and said Harris-Perry's influence might open the cable news landscape to a multiplicity of voices. Ratings released in May 2012 showed the program had more growth in its time period than all other cable news programs combined and was number one in its time slot with viewers ages 18 to 34.
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