Fox News' Jesse Watters Will Replace Tucker Carlson in His Old Spot: Here are 5 Things to Know

Jesse Watters, a long-time personality at Fox News, has been announced as the replacement for Tucker Carlson, who recently left the network. Watters, who joined the network in 2002 and has been anchoring the 7 pm time slot since the beginning of the year, will now take on a more prominent role.

This announcement comes after a slump in the ratings and after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit from Dominion, a voting machine company, and narrowly avoided a trial in which Carlson was expected to testify. Read on to learn more about Watters' big move and other lineup changes in the Fox News primetime lineup.

Taking over the high-visibility 8 p.m. slot previously held by Tucker Carlson, Watters will be part of a larger revamp of Fox News' primetime lineup, prompted by Carlson's sudden departure and a subsequent decline in viewership. In this reshuffling, Greg Gutfeld will move to the 10 p.m. hour, while Laura Ingraham, the conservative firebrand, will take the reins at 7 p.m. Sean Hannity will maintain his long-held position at 9 p.m., and Trace Gallagher's "Fox News @ Night" will move to an earlier 11 p.m. slot from its previous midnight airing.

"Fox News Channel has been America's destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup," said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, in a statement. "The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come."

Jesse Watters is a prominent conservative television personality and political commentator known for his work on Fox News. Born on July 9, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Watters attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. Watters began his career in media as a production assistant at Fox News in 2002. Over the years, he honed his skills and rose through the ranks, becoming a familiar face on the network. 

Watters rose to prominence through his Watters' World segments on The O'Reilly Factor. In these segments, Watters conducted entertaining and sometimes confrontational interviews with individuals from all walks of life, often capturing the attention of viewers with his provocative (and often controversial) style.

Watters is on Fox News' chat panel show, The Five, with other hosts Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld and Jeanine Pirro. As with many programs on Fox News, The Five has a reputation for having a conservative bias. The show's co-hosts often present right-leaning perspectives, which can be seen as limiting or excluding alternative viewpoints, leading to accusations of partisan reporting. But the show adopts a conversational and fast-paced format, allowing for lively debates and exchanges among the co-hosts. This approach can be entertaining, its "secret sauce."

Since leaving Fox News, Carlson has launched a new show on Twitter, which has gained significant viewership. With rotating hosts, including Watters, filling in the timeslot, the network has experienced a decrease in viewership compared to Carlson's show. However, Fox News has since reclaimed its position at the top of the primetime ratings after briefly losing it to MSNBC.