Norah O'Donnell Returns to CBS Mornings as Anchor in Latest Lineup Shakeup
Norah O'Donnell is heading back to the CBS morning show she left seven years ago, rejoining Gayle King and Nate Burleson in a new anchor trio for CBS Mornings — and adding a correspondent role at 60 Minutes on top of it, according to Variety.
O'Donnell departed the morning program in May 2019 to take the anchor chair at CBS Evening News. Her return completes a circle that started in 2012, when she first co-anchored the morning broadcast alongside King and Charlie Rose. Now she steps back into a studio she knows well, but with a different cast and a different competitive picture.
The timing is not quiet. Season-to-date as of 30 August, CBS Mornings drew roughly 1.7 million total viewers — down about 9% from the same period a year earlier, per Nielsen. Rivals NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America each pulled just under 3 million. In the 25-to-54 demographic that advertisers prize, CBS was down 20% to about 278,000 viewers, while Today slipped 2% to 612,000 and GMA rose 2% to 478,000.
Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News, oversees the division. Jon Tower, the producer running CBS Mornings, sent a memo to staff confirming O'Donnell's arrival, Variety reported.
The return did not come without friction. In mid-August, the New York Post and TV Insider reported that King was "not happy" about the prospect of O'Donnell rejoining the co-anchor desk. The Post also reported that a revamp of CBS Mornings had been led by Bari Weiss. Those reports cited unnamed sources.
O'Donnell's recent work signals the range she brings to the new slot. She has investigated harassment in the U.S. armed forces, secured an interview with Pope Francis, and recently launched a podcast centred on women's health. She also co-led a CBS Mornings segment tied to the trial of Lindsay Clancy, who maintains she suffered from postpartum psychosis in the strangulation of her three children. O'Donnell is represented by UTA.
The broader anchor lineup has shifted more than once. As of early 2026, the co-hosts were King, Tony Dokoupil, and Burleson — a former football player. That trio was assembled under former CBS News chief Neeraj Khemlani, who paired King with Burleson and a correspondent in a 2023 reworking of the show, Variety reported. Now O'Donnell replaces Dokoupil in the chair.
For viewers, the change is immediate in significance but may take time to register in the ratings. Morning television is a habit business — audiences tune in for familiar faces, and a new anchor trio means CBS is asking people to adjust their routine. Whether O'Donnell's return narrows the gap with Today and GMA is a question only the next batch of Nielsen numbers can answer.
