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Norah O’Donnell returns to CBS Mornings as co-host amid lineup overhaul

The former evening anchor rejoins Gayle King and Nate Burleson as CBS News adjusts programming to address falling morning ratings.

Updated Sep 3, 2026 · 14:19 UTC2 reports

The short version

  • Norah O’Donnell is returning to co-anchor CBS Mornings alongside Gayle King and Nate Burleson.
  • O'Donnell previously co-hosted the network's morning broadcast from 2012 to 2019 before moving to the CBS Evening News.
  • The move comes as CBS Mornings experiences audience declines, trailing competitors Good Morning America and Today.
  • Network executives plan to introduce additional on-air contributors and shift coverage toward live news discussions rather than pre-planned features.

Key facts

  • Norah O’Donnell was named co-host of CBS Mornings, joining Gayle King and Nate Burleson.[The Hollywood Reporter · Variety]
  • O'Donnell previously served as a co-anchor on the morning program between 2012 and 2019 before transitioning to the CBS Evening News.[The Hollywood Reporter · Variety]
  • Season-to-date figures as of late August show CBS Mornings viewership fell around 9% to 1.7 million, with the 25-to-54 demographic dropping 20% to roughly 278,000.[Variety]
  • O'Donnell will also serve as a correspondent for 60 Minutes alongside her morning anchor duties.[The Hollywood Reporter · Variety]
  • Contributors Vlad Duthiers, Kelly O’Grady, and Adriana Diaz will stay on the program as the network seeks to add more regular contributors.[The Hollywood Reporter · Variety]
  • CBS News leadership plans to shift the morning show's format by reducing feature packages in favor of live, topic-driven news conversations.[Variety]

What remains uncertain

  • The exact identities and timing of additional on-air contributors expected to join CBS Mornings remain unannounced.[The Hollywood Reporter · Variety]

Sources