The lights went dark on Friday as Bill O'Reilly's highly-rated Fox News show "The Factor" officially went off the air.
Gregg Gutfeld, who often hosted the show when O'Reilly was away, was the show's final host, and called it a "sad day," but hoped the change would lead to "new beginnings" for the network, The Hill reported Saturday.
News observers were surprised when Fox announced it was ending its relationship with O'Reilly on Wednesday over allegations of sexual harassment. The revelations of the charges against him came to light April 1 when The New York Times reported the network had paid $13 million to settle sexual harassment claims made by five women. That led to advertisers cancelling in droves.
O'Reilly did not have the opportunity to close the show himself, as he was on vacation when the network made the decision to end the relationship.
"Some of the people on the Factor staff have been here from the very beginning helping Bill O'Reilly create something that had never been done before," Gutfeld said Friday. "In the 20 years since the Factor has been on the air, Bill changed the way news is done, and his show became a sanctuary for you, our loyal viewers, who are not being well-served by the mainstream media."
Gutfeld said it was impossible for him to truly turn the lights out for what had been the most-watched cable news show for the past 15 years.
"How do I turn out the lights on such a venerable and amazing show? I can't. It's not my show and it's not my place. So, on behalf of all of us on the Factor, good night and godspeed," he said.
Tucker Carlson, whose show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" has been well-received since first airing in November of last year, will fill O'Reilly's former time slot.
"The Five" will follow after Carlson, which features a panel including Kimberly Guilfoyle, Dana Perino, Bob Beckel, Gutfeld, Jesse Watters and Juan Williams.
Sean Hannity will remain in his present time slot and will follow "The Five."
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