Chris Wallace on the set of “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” at FOX News D.C. Bureau on June 4, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace abruptly announced on Sunday he’s leaving the network after 18 years, effective immediately.
Wallace is leaving to host a weekly show at CNN’s streaming service CNN+, which will debut in the first quarter of 2022.
The veteran host of the flagship “Fox News Sunday” said he was ready for a change.
“I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I’m interested in. I’m ready for a new adventure,” Wallace said in a statement that aired on his final show. Wallace didn’t provide additional details on his new endeavor, but said he hoped fans would “check it out.”
Fox News will fill the spot with rotating hosts until a new anchor is named, the company said in a press release.
Wallace, the son of late “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace, was known as one of the main straight news journalists at Fox News, which largely targets more conservative and right-wing audiences.
“Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they have kept that promise,” Wallace said.
Wallace’s sudden departure follows a period of shakeups in the cable news world. MSNBC host and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor and managing editor Brian Williams announced last month he was leaving the network at the end of the year. Williams said he expected he would “pop up again somewhere.”
CNN also fired its primetime anchor Chris Cuomo earlier this month, after “new information” came to light during a review of how he helped his brother and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo respond to sexual harassment allegations. In a statement, Cuomo said he was disappointed in CNN’s decision.
