Peacock To Debut Original News Shows Featuring Mehdi Hasan And Zerlina Maxwell

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Peacock today announced two original news shows featuring some of the media landscape's most provocative voices—Mehdi Hasan and Zerlina Maxwell—that will debut on October 5. The Mehdi Hasan Show and Zerlina. add thought-provoking commentary and deep analysis to Peacock's new, exclusive news channel, The Choice. 

"News is a key differentiator for Peacock and we're excited to bring more original and popular news programming to the platform. We will continue to expand news content on Peacock with a focus on aggregating varied perspectives and diverse voices," said Jen Brown, SVP of Topical Programming and Development for Peacock. 

The Mehdi Hasan Show will feature insightful reporting and probing interviews that examine the day's events and provide a deeper level of context for the politics of our interconnected society. Mehdi Hasan is an award-winning journalist known for riveting one-on-one conversations, as well as his coverage of national politics, current affairs, and global news. Hasan worked as a senior columnist and host of the podcast Deconstructed at The Intercept. He was previously a political commentator and presenter at Al Jazeera. Hasan will also serve as a political analyst for MSNBC. 

"I'm thrilled to host this new show and also to be part of an exciting roster of programming as we launch this new channel under Peacock," said Mehdi Hasan. "At this crucial time, it's essential to hold people in power to account, which I aim to do on the show." 

Zerlina. will offer incisive and timely coverage of politics and current events through in-depth conversations that unpack the latest developments in this era's breakneck news cycle and will draw back the curtain on their real-world consequences. Zerlina Maxwell is a political analyst and host known for her clear, relatable, and insightful commentary, and she is the author of The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide. She worked as a field organizer for the Barack Obama campaign in 2008 and as the director of progressive media for the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Currently, Maxwell is the head of progressive programming for SiriusXM, the co-host of the award-winning SiriusXM show Signal Boost, and a regular contributor to MSNBC.

"We're developing a show to help people think through how news affects their individual lives and our culture as a whole," said Zerlina Maxwell. "Peacock provides a fantastic platform for the show to be seen by a broad audience."

The Choice lineup also includes political talk show The Majority Report, which is hosted by Sam Seder and features progressive news commentary and longform conversations daily. Saturday nights on The Choice feature replays of WILMORE and The Amber Ruffin Show, the late-night block of Peacock Originals.

The Choice on Peacock schedule (all times ET)

• 5:00 p.m. The Majority Report (new Monday–Friday)
• 6:00 p.m. Zerlina. (new Monday–Friday)
• 7:00 p.m. The Mehdi Hasan Show (new Monday–Friday)
• 10:00 p.m. WILMORE (replay Saturday)
• 10:30 p.m. The Amber Ruffin Show (replay Saturday)

The progressive channel deepens Peacock's news offerings, which also include streaming channels NBC News NOW, TODAY All Day, and Sky News, as well as Noticias Telemundo on demand.  

Viewers can sign up for Peacock for free at peacocktv.com. Peacock is currently available on the Roku platform; Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices, including Android, Android TV devices, Chromecast, and Chromecast built-in devices; Microsoft's Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One S and Xbox One X; Sony PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro; and VIZIO SmartCast TVs and LG Smart TVs. Comcast's eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, as well as eligible Cox Contour customers, enjoy Peacock Premium with their service at no additional cost. 

About Peacock
Peacock is NBCUniversal's new streaming service. Peacock delivers a world-class slate of exclusive Originals, on-demand libraries of hit TV shows, plus critically acclaimed films from the vaults of Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination and Hollywood's biggest studios. In addition, Peacock taps into NBCUniversal's unmatched ability to deliver a broad range of compelling topical content across news, sports, late-night, Spanish-language and reality. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

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SOURCE Peacock