60 Minutes Opens Season 59 With Familiar Faces After Shake-Up

60 Minutes began its 59th season on Sunday, September 13, sticking close to its past after an overhaul of on-air and behind-camera staff in May and June.

The premiere aired at 7:30 PM ET/PT after NFL football on the CBS Television Network, according to CBS News. It ran 7:30-8:30 PM ET / 7:00-8:00 PM PT and also streamed on Paramount+, listings from Paramount Press Express show.

Three familiar correspondents carried the hour. Lesley Stahl, with the programme since 1991, Jon Wertheim, who joined in 2017, and Norah O'Donnell fronted the stories, Variety reported. O'Donnell was recently named a full-time correspondent after contributing stories multiple times.

O'Donnell led one of the main segments. Titled "Shot Down Over Iran," it featured an interview with the U.S. Air Force officer rescued after his plane was downed.

Newer names were largely absent. Ross Douthat appeared only briefly. Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, Trevor Phillips and Ariel Levy did not appear in the telecast. Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, is leaving the paper to join 60 Minutes as a correspondent, The New York Times reported in July.

The broadcast leaned on long-used tools. One story featured a hidden camera. The opening logo used more black and white and less red, with its colour scheme pulled back.

There were no on-screen QR codes. There were also no on-air prompts to join correspondents for an interactive chat at CBSNews.com and no prompts to listen via podcast.

One holdover stayed in place. "The Last Minute," the end-of-programme segment, remains in Season 59. It was originally put in place by former executive producer Bill Owens.

Executive producer Nick Bilton said he would publish a newsletter every Monday offering a behind-the-scenes look at 60 Minutes. Bilton is working under CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss.