The clock is ticking on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC contract, and multiple sources are telling Huffington Post that the cable network doesn’t appear to be interested in renewing his show, “The Last Word” despite a recent surge in the ratings.
With only four weeks left on his contract, HuffPost reports that O’Donnell’s team has yet to hear from the network to negotiate a new deal. Although it’s customary for networks not to discuss contracts in mid-negotiations, multiple sources say that no negotiations have even begun.
Networks typically lock in new terms months before talent contracts expire so as not to lose them to competitors, especially when the talent hosts a high-rated show. O’Donnell’s show,”The Last Word,” is second best rated at the network, behind “The Rachel Maddow” show in both numbers and time slot.
MSNBC’s ratings have been strong in recent months, led by Rachel Maddow, but O’Donnell has also seen ratings improvement. In April he beat CNN in the 10 p.m. hour across the board for the second consecutive month.
In recent weeks, O’Donnell has taken to Twitter with “we need audience support now more than ever” messages.
We need audience support now more than ever so thanks again. https://t.co/loMgqQxOQP
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) May 4, 2017
Last night @maddow was #1 rated show in all of cable tv, not just cable news. @TheLastWord was #2. Thanks for your support. We need it.
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) May 12, 2017
Before becoming a regular contributor on “Morning Joe” in 2009 which eventually led to his own show “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” a year later. Prior to emerging as one of MSNBC’s primetime stars, O’Donnell worked on “The West Wing” as a writer, consultant and executive producer. He is credited with writing 16 episodes, according to IMDB.
Neither MSNBC nor O’Donnell immediately responded to requests from TheWrap for comment.