22
« on: April 29, 2009, 07:51:20 AM »
Al Roker, as previously speculated, is joining TWC for a new show called Wake Up with Al, which will air for one hour only from 6-7 AM ET starting this summer at some point.
His new co-host is going to be Stephanie Abrams. He's going to be live from New York while Steph is live from TWC's studios. Since it's such a major schedule shift from Abrams & Bettes Weather Center, I can only imagine that A&B WC is going to end when this show starts, so the only places I guess we'll see Steph is on that show and during live shots. As much as I didn't like the changes that came to A&B when it took on the Weather Center name, I still hate to see Steph and Mike being broken up. They had some fun times together, but again, the big NBC agenda rules the day and puts Steph on for only an hour a day.
That then makes me wonder what will become of First Outlook. It's obviously going to lose its final hour, which was its biggest hour, so I'd honestly speculate that they might cut back to just having Jeff anchor the show while Jen's on maternity leave. Honestly, they should just put Nicole on that show and let Steph take over YWT as well. Putting Steph on the air for only an hour per day is just a waste. I know that's how A&B started, but still, with the modern NBC thinking of having everyone working 3-4 hour on-air shifts, wasting Steph of all people for just an hour seems like a really stupid idea.
I guess we'll see what happens going forward. I'd assume it'll be a topic of discussion on tonight's A&B WC.