Shannon Bream tapped to host ‘Fox News Sunday,’ becoming first female anchor in show’s history

Veteran Fox News Channel anchor Shannon Bream will helm the network’s Sunday morning political talk show, filling the shoes of Chris Wallace, who left Fox last year for a stint on CNN’s short-lived streaming service.

Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, announced Thursday that Ms. Bream will take over as the permanent anchor of “Fox News Sunday” starting Sept. 11, becoming the first woman to head the 26-year-old program, while continuing as the network’s chief legal correspondent.

“Shannon is an outstanding journalist, reporter and anchor who has cultivated a strong and enduring relationship with the FOX News Media audience,” said Ms. Scott in a statement.

Ms. Bream, who joined Fox in 2007, will step down as anchor of “Fox News @ Night,” the weeknight news show, and be replaced by a rotating pool of journalists until a permanent host is named.

Congratulations to @ShannonBream on being named the new anchor of Fox News Sunday! She is a superb journalist and broadcaster and a wonderful human being.

— Brit Hume (@brithume) August 11, 2022

“It has been an honor to cover major news throughout Washington over the last 15 years at FOX News,” said Ms. Bream. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to host a Sunday show and look forward to this new role.”

Ms. Bream was one of several Fox personalities who shared hosting duties on “Fox News Sunday” after the sudden exit of Mr. Wallace, who announced his departure at the end of the Dec. 12 program. He had anchored the show for 18 years.

Mr. Wallace jumped ship to CNN, where he hosted a newsmaker interview show on CNN+, the highly touted streaming service that shut down April 30 after just a month under the network’s new ownership, Warner Bros. Discovery.

In May, CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht announced that Mr. Wallace would reprise his role as host of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” starting in the fall. The show is scheduled to air Sunday nights on CNN and HBO Max as part of its “CNN Sunday” programming block.

Ms. Bream outdrew last year’s “Fox News Sunday” average ratings by 20% during her stints as host over the last few months, according to the network.

“In January, she netted double digit increases across the board on FNS, up 32% in total viewers (1.35 million) and 45% over the previous in the advertiser friendly 25-54 demo (343,000), marking the highest-rated FOX News Sunday episode of 2022,” the network said.

She also delivered a 10% increase in the 25-54 demo compared to last year’s show, and Fox outperformed all Sunday programming on CNN and MSNBC in total viewers.

Ms. Bream is a familiar face to Fox viewers for her reporting on the Supreme Court as well as her role in the network’s election-night coverage and the war in Ukraine.

A founding author of Fox News Books, the publishing imprint of Fox News Media, she wrote the bestselling title “The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today” (March 2021).