ABC News may be on the verge of axing one of its flagship ‘Good Morning America’ shows as the network is hit with widespread job cuts.
Good Morning America 3, the afternoon spin-off of ABC’s national morning show of the same name, lost the entirety of its staff last week, leaving the regular GMA team to run the show.
According to Status News, which first reported the layoffs, the team behind GMA3 was ‘entirely gutted’, including its executive producer, Catherine McKenzie.
Network chief Almin Karamehmedovic is reportedly set to address staff at a Tuesday town hall, with workers speculating whether he will address the fate of GMA3 at the meeting.
Despite the industry rumors and staffer fears, one insider seemed optimistic about the show’s future, telling DailyMail.com: ‘GMA3 is not going anywhere.’
Others seem less convinced, and the potential axing of GMA3 comes almost seven years since the spin-off show first aired in 2018, when Michael Strahan and Sara Haines hosted the early episodes.
The show became best known for its next co-hosts TJ Homes and Amy Robach, who were dramatically pulled from the air in December 2022 when DailyMail.com exposed their extramarital affair.
At the time, Robach was married to actor Andrew Shue, while Holmes was married to attorney Marilee Fiebig, with the scandal causing both to be removed from the network’s flagship afternoon program.
But now current hosts DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim could be set for the same fate, as Tuesday’s town hall with Karamehmedovic is reportedly expected to be make-or-break for the show.
ABC News may be on the verge of axing one of its flagship ‘Good Morning America’ shows as the network is hit with widespread job cuts. Pictured: Network chief Almin Karamehmedovic (right)
The potential axing of GMA3 comes almost seven years since the spin-off show first aired in 2018, and it was best known as being hosted by TJ Holmes and Amy Robach
It comes after about 200 staffers across ABC News and other Disney-owned divisions received pink slips earlier this month, with GMA3 devastated by the consolidation of the Good Morning America teams.
Status reported at the time that staffers were seen weeping in ABC’s Manhattan offices as workers tried to piece together who was next on the chopping block.
Karamehmedovic previously addressed staff as the round of layoffs were announced, where he conceded the losses will ‘undoubtedly be difficult for our organization.’
Neither Pilgrim nor Morgan were affected by the cuts announced Wednesday, March 6, the majority of which will go into effect on May 10.
At that point, staffers will be provided a severance package that includes normal pay for 60 days as well as an additional week per year served, according to Status.
Sources told the outlet how there’s been ‘some frustration’ with those packages, due to staffers being given ‘two weeks per year served’ in previous firings.
ABC News previously shed 40 employees in October.
The show became best known for its next co-hosts TJ Homes and Amy Robach , who were dramatically pulled from the air in December 2022 when DailyMail.com exposed their extramarital affair
The potential end of GMA3 comes two years after hosts TJ Holmes and AMY Robach’s cozy upstate getaway ultimately ousted them from the network
Back then, Karamehmedovic – named president in August after helming the network’s other prized broadcast ‘World News Tonight’ – called the cuts one of many ‘tough decisions’.
‘It’s a very somber scene in the building – people crying and upset,’ one staffer told Status as ABC’s Manhattan office reacted to the all-staff memo announcing the layoffs.
‘Lots of panicked phone calls between staffers trying to make sense of it.’
Seni Tienabeso, previously the executive director of the channel’s streaming venture ABC News live, was appointed to the position of Vice President of the streaming service.
Additionally, ABC News Studios, “20/20,” “Nightline” and “Impact x Nightline” will now operate under a single leadership structure – a move that represents even more consolidation.
Digital and social operations will also be further integrated with news gathering and other teams, the network said.
New York-based employees – who recently relocated from ABC’s longtime studio on the Upper West Side to Disney’s new digs downtown – represented the ‘vast majority’ of staffers affected, people familiar with the matter further told Darcy.
‘I’m told GMA3 was entirely gutted,’ a portion of his report read – after reporting on the then-planned shakeup a few weeks ago.
Pictured, current GMA3 hosts DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim. The show – spun-off from the similarly stylized morning show in 2018 – has reportedly been ‘gutted’ by layoffs
Catherine McKenzie, the executive producer of “GMA3,” was let go as part of the layoffs
The cuts come at time where TV in general is in the midst of a seemingly inevitable decline.
CNN recently laid off close to 200 as part of a shift to a more digital-based model, while losing stalwarts like Darcy and Jim Acosta to independent ventures – both digital-based.
Layoffs were also seen at NBC News’ office at 30 Rock, while longtime Meet the Press host Chuck Todd stepped away for his own podcasting endeavor as well. Lester Holt is also stepping away from Nightly News this summer, after 10 years at the desk, but will still anchor Dateline at the network.
‘It’s all about doing more with less,’ one ABC staffer told Status, as ABC and the other stations continue to push their respective ventures. ‘That’s what this is.’
Both GMA and GMA3 are currently available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, though not live.
