What’s next for CNN+ host Chris Wallace?

As news broke Thursday that Warner Bros. Discovery was shutting down CNN+ just a month after its launch, and pundits and commentators were quick to jump on the smoldering rubble and separate the decisions that led to the undeniable debacle. While there are certainly plenty of complaints to be made about the 300 million dollar fiasco, at least one media personality walked away unscathed and with an almost certain future at CNN: Chris Wallace.

Wallace, veteran DC journalist and longtime host of Fox News Sunday, moved to CNN+ after a high-profile exit from Fox News. Prior to Wallace’s CNN+ debut, he spoke at length to the media about why he left Fox News, saying his time there had become “unsustainable.”

“I just didn’t feel comfortable with Fox’s programming anymore,” Wallace told the New York Times end of March.

“I agree with the opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion”, Wallace added. “But when people start questioning the truth – Who won the 2020 election? Was January 6 an insurrection? “I found that unbearable.

“I spent a lot of 2021 researching if there was a different place for me to do my job,” Wallace noted before explaining that CNN+ appealed to him because streaming offered the freedom to lead. lengthy interviews in any format of his choosing.

Wallace’s CNN+ program, Who talks to Chris Wallacefeatured “conversations across the spectrum of news, sports, entertainment and culture” and attracted big names like the White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Ken Burns, and director James Cameron.

Wallace’s interviews rarely left anything on the ground, and as he has for years on Fox News, the reporter wasn’t shy about asking uncomfortable questions.

Wallace’s interview with the author of the 1619 project Nikole Hannah Jones made headlines in the media world and brought Wallace back into the public consciousness. Wallace pushed to Hannah-Jones for claiming that the greatest generation was responsible for the “brutal suppression of democracy” for black people. He also asked Hannah-Jones what she would say to white parents who are upset that she “tells my kids we’re all racists.”

The interview, which was largely civil and ended with evident mutual respect between guest and host, struck such nerve that it even sparked comments rival hosts as MSNBC hosts Joy Reid, Tiffany Cross, and Lawrence O’Donnell all took to Twitter to denounce him – the ultimate sign of relevance.

And relevance is exactly what CNN is chasing after these days. The network, which saw a surge in ratings at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was in trouble in recent weeks for any show to attract more than a million viewers – a feat easily achieved by Fox News and MSNBC in prime time.

Additionally, CNN still has a major gap in its prime-time programming, as the 9 p.m. hour is anchor-free. Chris Cuomo remains without a permanent host.

the new president of CNN, Chris Licht, is set to take the helm on May 2, and filling that slot will likely be one of its first major announcements. We already have an idea of ​​how Licht plans to run the iconic news network.

“Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will reduce prime-time partisanship and double the network’s newsgathering power, top sources tell me,” Axios wrote. Mike Allen when Licht’s hiring was announced in February.

Licht, who is leaving his role as executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to quote CNN, has a strong background in current affairs, having served as vice president of programming at CBS News and started MSNBC’s Hello Joe.

If his track record is any indication, Licht will certainly try to retain Wallace, whose journalistic chops are considered among the best in the business. Wallace’s veteran status and Fox News experience also give him added credibility in right-wing reporting — a commodity in high demand by mainstream media these days.

As CNN+ staffers, many of whom quit other jobs to join the streamer supposed to usher CNN into a new era, rush to decide what’s next, it’s hard to imagine we don’t see a quick return of Wallace to the air. The only question will be, will Wallace land at 9 p.m. or perhaps make a return to Sunday? Either way, CNN letting him go seems extremely unlikely.

This is an opinion piece. The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.