[5] The Beat is one of the most viewed shows online, per Daily Beast -- drawing over a billion total streams, a "notable feat for a cable news program" (CNN's Reliable Sources).

[8] The network tapped Melber as one of its "most valuable utility players" for anchoring the 6 p.m. slot, according to the Associated Press,[9] an effort to shore up an hour when MSNBC has historically drawn fewer viewers, trailing cable stars Bret Baier and Wolf Blitzer, who host the 6 p.m. shows on Fox News and CNN, respectively.

Senator and later Vice President Kamala Harris, fellow senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin, Mark Warner, and Cory Booker; Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had a newsworthy legal exchange on the show,[14] former White House adviser Stephen Bannon, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg, who later credited the interview for his decision to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller,[15] also Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has appeared on the show multiple times and musician Talib Kweli, who joined a discussion with Fat Joe and conservative Bill Kristol that Fortune called "one of the most delightfully diverse panels ever.

"[16][17] The show also features musical and cultural guests, such as 50 Cent, Method Man, Vic Mensa, French Montana, Black Panther actor Winston Duke, Sean Penn, novelist Alice Walker, Andrew Leon Talley, DJs Stretch Armstrong, Bobbito Garcia and Jay Smooth, Desus and The Kid Mero (who both co-host Desus & Mero), and the rapper Havoc, (who noted Melber quoted his lyrics to explain a legal concept[18] and announced a forthcoming Mobb Deep album in an interview on the show).

[21] The Detroit Free Press named The Beat with Ari Melber to its "best" TV shows of 2017, noting its reporting "helped untangle the implications of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, revealing the actual law obscured by the partisan posturing of so many cable news formats.