The general format for the show consisted of moderator John McLaughin questioning four commentators, among them Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, Clarence Page, Morton Kondracke, Fred Barnes, Jack Germond and Mort Zuckerman.

The conversation was usually sedate at the beginning of the program, but as opposing viewpoints emerged there was more verbal rough-housing, good-natured gamesmanship and occasionally very loud crosstalk as panelists attempted to out-yell the others, all of which were the show's trademarks.

[3] Journalists James Fallows and ex-McLaughlin Group panelist Jack Germond opined that the show gloried too much in sensationalism and simplification, to the detriment of serious journalism.

Not only did it accept all sorts of preconditions for access to official guests (servitude Hitchens attributed to all major political talk shows of the time), it actively assisted the White House – McLaughlin's wife Ann served in the cabinet, and Pat Buchanan was "hired straight off the set" to be Reagan's director of communications.

From its start until May 2008, the program originated from WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington, D.C. From May 2008 until it ended in August 2016, the show was produced at and aired by WUSA-TV, the Tegna-owned CBS affiliate for Washington, D.C.[1] In the final months of the show's run, McLaughlin took a smaller role in the panel's weekly discussions due to health issues and a wavering voice.

[13]Panelist Pat Buchanan then began the episode by saying, "This is our first time in 34 years that our distinguished leader Dr. McLaughlin is not in his chair and we miss him.

On August 18, 2016, WTTW's chief content officer Dan Soles announced that The McLaughlin Group had ended production.

"[11] The program was revived January 7, 2018 – retaining McLaughlin's name posthumously – reuniting the same panelists from the later years of the original run, joined by Tom Rogan as host.

[16] According to Buchanan's official website, the panelists were hoping to sell the revived show to a network so that The McLaughlin Group could be "back on the air on a full-time basis.

"[17] Berenzweig and Castleberry believed that a revived McLaughlin Group could not survive commercially as merely a regional show in the Washington, D.C., area and needed national distribution to be financially viable.

[16] At the time the pilot appeared on YouTube, Sinclair Broadcast Group was trying to acquire Tribune Media, and Berenzweig and Castleberry approached WJLA-TV, the Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., about a deal to carry the revived show locally.

[15] Sinclair Broadcasting expressed hopes to syndicate the show during the 2018–19 television season, most likely in a news block also featuring Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.

[citation needed] The proposed Sinclair-Tribune merger came under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission, and within three months Tribune Media decided to pull out of the potential deal.

"[18] Meanwhile, BL Media Group decided that public television offered the best chance of resurrecting the revived show and approached several PBS stations during 2019 about carrying it.

[21] On January 3, 2020,[citation needed] the program began to air nationally in the United States, exclusively on PBS stations and digital platforms.

[21] By early March 2020, The McLaughlin Group aired on 204 television stations around the United States,[16] reaching 60 percent of the American population,[16] including outlets in 14 of the top 25 U.S. television markets,[16] among them Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco,[16] and Washington, D.C. At the time, an expanded one-hour version of the show[22] aired on 40 radio stations around the United States through Westwood One,[16] in addition to the Westwood One-produced podcast version of the show.

"[16] When public health restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread and commonplace in the United States in March 2020, The McLaughlin Group stopped taping episodes in a studio and moved to a format in which members of the panel participated remotely.

On January 8, 2021, the show's Twitter feed posted a message that stated "As we kick-off the new year, The McLaughlin Group and its producers would like to thank all of our loyal viewers and listeners.

We are taking a brief hiatus as we work with our broadcast partners to continue to bring to you this landmark and vital show during this important time in our country.