Brian Williams' comeback story could lead him back into primetime.
The anchor faced a wrath of criticism in 2015 after he admitted to exaggerating details of stories that he reported on. His embellishment got him booted from the anchor chair of "NBC Nightly News," and he was given the 11 PM time slot at MSNBC, which was one of the more non-desirable assignments at the network.
But, the "11th Hour With Brian Williams" show has become a hit, constantly beating out its competition at Fox News and CNN. Because of this, network executives are considering moving the once-tarnished newshound to a more prominent time slot, Page Six reported.
In fact, there is talk that he could replace Chris Matthews at 7 PM. There's further talk that Chris could replace Joe Scarborough on the highly successful "Morning Joe" show if Joe decides to reenter politics, as some believe he will.
"Brian's done an amazing job of keeping his head down and working," a network source said. "He hasn't tried to take any victory laps at MSNBC."
At this point, when compared to the high-profile sexual misconduct scandals that have rocked the news industry, Brian's embellishment of stories seems "almost quaint," an MSNBC source said.
Still, despite the high ratings of "11th Hour With Brian Williams," NBC has no plans to bring him back to the big network to anchor one of the desired evening news shows.
"A lot of [NBC journalists] think Brian should've lost his job," a source told Page Six. "He's kind of forgotten at NBC News."
That doesn't mean he's not getting prominent gigs. MSNBC has announced that Brian, along with Rachel Maddow, will anchor the network's 2020 election coverage.