The program airs live at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday-Friday, and is hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell from Mondays to Thursdays and relief presenters on Fridays.

"[2][3] The show originally premiered in the 10 pm slot Monday-Thursday on September 27, 2010, with the first episode featuring Vice President Joe Biden[4] and Countdown host Keith Olbermann.

[5] Between March and April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, MSNBC temporaily replaces the Tuesday evening broadcasts with NBC News Special Report hours either hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt or Today co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

[6] Guest hosts for the series include Ali Velshi, Ayman Mohyeldin, Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart, and Alicia Menendez.

Since 2024, the program also airs a recap on Sunday as part of Prime Weekend, which also recaps from The Rachel Maddow Show, Deadline: White House, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, Alex Wagner Tonight, All In with Chris Hayes, The ReidOut and Inside With Jen Psaki.