Don Lemon Says Goodbye To Prime-Time CNN Program In Final Signoff
CNN host Don Lemon parted ways with his prime-time news program Friday after holding the gig for over eight years.
The anchor said goodbye to “Don Lemon Tonight,” launched in 2014, ahead of his move to a morning news program that is set to debut before the end of the year, the network announced last month.
The unnamed program — which will air in the current “New Day” time slot, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST — will include co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins alongside Lemon.
“New Day” anchors John Berman and Brianna Keilar will continue in their roles until the change, CNN announced, and they will later take on new positions with the network.
This week, Lemon told viewers of his late-evening program that “it is not goodbye, but it is certainly the end of an era.”
Lemon looked back on several moments from the show, including his reporting on the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri; coverage of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol last year; and an emotional performance of “You Send Me” following the death of Aretha Franklin.
Lemon said the program’s conclusion was “bittersweet” but refused to call it a sad moment.
“Sometimes all I could do, I’m going to be honest with you, is just smile and just get to the commercial break. ... Sometimes it was exhausting, because some of the things that we discuss here are so personal and so consuming — all-consuming,” Lemon said of the show.
“So I hope I made you proud, and I thank you for tuning in all these years. And I hope that you’re going to join me in the mornings. So I will simply say goodnight, and I will see you soon.”
You can watch Lemon’s message to viewers, including the moment he left the program’s set, below.
That's a wrap. Thank you for tuning in for over 8 great years. @donlemon will see you in the mornings! pic.twitter.com/WfJlSl8PcO
— Don Lemon Tonight (@DonLemonTonight) October 8, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
