Alex Wagner Is 'Upside Down with Excitement ' to Host Rachel Maddow's MSNBC Time Slot 4 Nights a Week

Wagner is set to be the only Asian-American woman hosting a solo news show when she steps in for Maddow, who reached a contract renewal agreement to continue her MSNBC series only one night per week

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Heidi Gutman/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Rachel Maddow's successor has been named.

Alex Wagner will take over as the majority host of MSNBC's 9 p.m. news hour. In a statement about the series transition, MSNBC President Rashida Jones spoke of what Wagner will bring to the network.

"This is not a show where our hair is on fire and we're yelling past each other, and we're creating these manufactured moments of tension," Jones said in a statement to The New York Times. "I really want the takeaway from this show to be a better understanding of what's happening in the world."

Wagner, 44, who is currently a Senior Political Analyst at MSNBC, expressed her excitement about the new hosting opportunity Monday on Twitter: "I am absolutely thrilled and honored and generally upside down with excitement to come back home to @MSNBC to host the 9PM hour, beginning August 16th. LET'S DO THIS."

The format will still allow for Maddow, 49, to host The Rachel Maddow Show during the 9 p.m. television slot on Monday nights. Then Wagner will host with her own, as-yet-unnamed show Tuesday through Friday.

The hosting position will continue to see Wagner as the only Asian-American woman hosting a solo news show, Jones added.

Jones also confirmed that Maddow was not consulted about Wagner's addition to the network or the 9 p.m. slot.

The change comes after Maddow previously reached a contract renewal agreement with MSNBC to continue her series only one night per week. The New York Times reported that Maddow was interested in pursuing other business opportunities including "podcasting and streaming projects," as her show was set to expire in 2022.

Wagner currently serves as a co-host and executive producer of The Circus on Showtime. She also published the book Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging in 2018.