Fox News Names Emily Compagno as Permanent Co-Host of 'The Five'
Fox News has named Emily Compagno as a permanent co-host of The Five, filling the fourth seat that has rotated through guest personalities since Jeanine Pirro left the show to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. CEO Suzanne Scott announced the appointment on Monday. Compagno begins her new role on 8 September (Variety).
On The Five, Compagno will sit alongside regulars Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Jesse Watters, with Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr. alternating as the show's liberal co-hosts. The roundtable format — five commentators debating the day's headlines — has been a ratings powerhouse. Fox News says The Five has been the most-watched program on cable news for 19 consecutive quarters, a streak spanning more than four years (Variety). In December 2025, the network reported its highest-rated non-election year in its history, with The Five ranked as the number-one cable program (Fox News press release, December 2025).
Compagno is not a new face at the network. She joined Fox News as a contributor in December 2018 and was named a co-host of the early-afternoon programme Outnumbered in January 2021, appearing alongside founding anchor Harris Faulkner (Fox News press release, January 2021). She has also led a programme on Fox Nation, the network's streaming service, and hosted a Fox News podcast focused on true crime (Variety).
Her path to television was unconventional. Before Fox News, Compagno worked as a criminal defence attorney and led the cheerleading squad for the NFL's Oakland Raiders. She comes from a military family (Variety).
The seat Compagno now fills opened when Pirro departed to take on the role of interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Since then, The Five has cycled through rotating personalities in that fourth chair, a common television practice when a permanent replacement has not yet been chosen. With Compagno's appointment, that rotation ends.
For viewers of The Five, 8 September is the date to watch. The show airs weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel.
