CNN’s Cuomo returning to primetime for Trump year-in-review series in January

CNN morning co-anchor Chris Cuomo will reportedly return to the network’s primetime schedule in January.

The former ABC “20/20” co-anchor will occupy CNN’s 9 p.m. timeslot for a show titled “Cuomo Prime Time,” according to TVNewser.com. The show will focus on President Trump’s first year in office.

Cuomo, 47, hosted several primetime programs in August when filling in for Don Lemon and occasionally filled in on “CNN Tonight” during the fall.

He will continue his morning duties with co-anchor Alisyn Camerota on “New Day,” where he has been a fixture since the three-hour weekday show launched in 2013.

His new series, which starts on Jan. 9, comes as CNN has largely struggled in primetime in 2017, finishing third to this point behind Fox News and MSNBC in total viewers while tying MSNBC for second in the key 25-54 demographic advertisers covet most.

Fox News finished the year as the most-watched basic cable network in primetime in total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Despite several changes to its primetime schedule, which included the departure of Megyn Kelly to NBC in January and the ouster of Bill O’Reilly amid sexual harassment allegations in April, Fox News has averaged 2.4 million total viewers in primetime in 2017. In the 25-54 demographic, Fox averaged 488,000 to finish first in the category in the cable news race.

MSNBC also had a strong year as it attracted more viewers than any other year in its 21-year history. Powered by Rachel Maddow at 9 p.m., the Comcast-owned network averaged 1.6 million total viewers in primetime, a jump of 50 percent over the election year of 2016. MSNBC was also up in the key 25-54 demographic, averaging 370,000 viewers, a rise of 37 percent over 2016.

CNN averaged 1.1 million total viewers in primetime, a 15-percent decrease from 2016, and 370,000 in the key demographic, a drop of 13 percent compared to last year.

Cuomo is the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo‎ (D) and the brother of current New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

–This report was updated at 12:07 p.m.