Rachel Maddow is coming to Philly following MS NOW’s lineup change

A lot has changed for MS NOW over the past year, including a separation from NBC and shedding its MSNBC moniker. But one constant has been the popularity of Rachel Maddow, the weekly host of the network’s flagship show.

The network will be leaning on that drawing power for an event in Philly next month.

Maddow will headline a live discussion at the Academy of Music on June 25 at 7 p.m. ahead of the city’s July Fourth celebration, a 250th birthday bash for America.

Maddow has said on her show more than once she lived in Philadelphia for a short time, calling it “one of my favorite cities on Earth.”

“I think if it as a city where everybody is always glad to see you, even if they go out of their way to not show it,” Maddow joked on her show Monday night.

The event, titled “We the People: America 250 — Country At A Crossroads,” will feature Maddow and some of her fellow MS NOW personalities, including host Ali Velshi.

Velshi’s inclusion is a no-brainer. The longtime MS NOW broadcaster is married to Philly investor and philanthropist Lori Wachs, and the two share a home in Bryn Mawr.

The event, billed as an evening of “in-depth discussion and engagement” ahead of the county’s 250th anniversary, will also feature constitutional legal expert Sherrilyn Ifill.

Tickets are available on MS NOW’s website.

The gathering will be the network’s third large fan event, following two previously held in New York City that drew about 4,000 viewers each to the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan and Brooklyn Academy of Music. MS NOW has also held smaller live events Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

“Our MS NOW audience truly is a community and will travel from all across the country to engage with our anchors and reporters,” said Rebecca Kutler, the network’s president. “It felt like a no-brainer to meet them where they are.”

It will also be a bit of a homecoming for Kutler, who grew up in Center City off the Ben Franklin Parkway.

“As America marks this historic milestone, we wanted this event to be a place for honest, in-depth conversations about the current state of democracy — and what better place than where it began," Kutler said.

MS NOW was one of seven cable networks spun off by NBC’s parent company Comcast in January, now owned by a new company called Versant.

So far, the split and name change hasn’t had much of an impact among viewers, with the network reporting double-digit, year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2026.

The network is averaging 1.4 million viewers during weekday primetime, second among cable news networks to the 2.6 million viewers Fox News draws on a nightly basis. CNN remains a distant third.

About a week before MS NOW’s Philly event, the network will debut a new lineup that will feature Velshi in the evening and a move to daytime for Stephanie Ruhle and Alicia Menendez, the daughter of convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.).

Ruhle will give up her 11 p.m. time slot to launch Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle, which will follow Morning Joe and will air from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Philly time. The new two-hour show will replace Ana Cabrera Reports, with Cabrera previously announcing plans to leave the network.

Former NBC News anchor Peter Alexander is moving to MS NOW to host the 11 a.m. hour, though the network hasn’t announced a debut date.

On the Line with Alicia Menendez will air from noon to 2 p.m., taking over Chris Jansing’s spot, who is becoming the network’s chief political reporter. Following Menendez will be the retitled The Moment with Katy Tur at 2 p.m.

Replacing Menendez on The Weeknight alongside Symone Sanders Townsend and Michael Steele will be Luke Russert, the son of former Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert.

Here’s what the new weekday lineup will look like beginning June 15: