Emily Compagno delivered an emotional on-air farewell Friday as she wrapped nearly six years co-hosting Fox News' "Outnumbered", and prepares to join the network's highest-rated program.
Compagno used her final moments on the midday show to thank viewers, her production team, and executive producer Trina Thompson by name, calling her time on "Outnumbered" "an extraordinary privilege and an honor." She closed with a four-word signoff that told the audience exactly where to find her next: "From now on, see you at 5:00."
Fox News announced the move last month. Compagno will take a permanent seat at "The Five" beginning Tuesday, joining co-hosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, and Jesse Watters on a program that has averaged 3.6 million viewers per quarter and ranked as cable news' top-rated show for 19 consecutive quarters, the New York Post reported. Harold Ford Jr. and Jessica Tarlov rotate through the show's liberal seat.
Compagno joined Fox News as a contributor in 2018. By 2021 she had earned a permanent co-hosting role on "Outnumbered," the network's noon ET panel show. Now she moves to a 5 p.m. slot that draws nearly four million viewers on an average day, a trajectory that Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott acknowledged when the promotion was first announced, praising Compagno as a "standout" whose "energy and talent" had impressed across the network.
Compagno, for her part, said at the time that she was "grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to get started." She described landing an official seat on "The Five", a program she had long admired, as an "incredible privilege."
Fox News has seen significant roster changes in recent years. The network parted ways with Maria Bartiromo after more than a decade, and internal tensions have surfaced publicly on more than one occasion.
Compagno's on-air goodbye leaned heavily on gratitude rather than sentimentality. She addressed viewers directly:
"After almost six years, I'd like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you at home who trusted me to help deliver and analyze the news every day at noon ET."
She then turned to the production team, calling out Thompson and the broader "Outnumbered" staff for what she described as their "dedication, professionalism, and sheer talent," crediting them as "the reason for this show's excellence day in and day out." It was a deliberate choice, putting the people behind the scenes ahead of herself on her final broadcast.
The show's official account on X posted a farewell message thanking Compagno "for the laughter, the insight, the unforgettable moments and for making the couch a better place every day."
Fox has not named a permanent replacement. Network personalities will rotate through Compagno's former seat on "Outnumbered" until the network selects a successor, a process with no announced timeline. The cable news landscape continues to shift; even broadcast networks have faced scrutiny over how they handle on-air talent and programming decisions, as ABC recently acknowledged regarding "The View."
The move makes strategic sense for the network. "The Five" has dominated cable news ratings for nearly five straight years, pulling 3.6 million viewers in the second quarter of 2026 alone, per Nielsen figures. Adding a proven personality like Compagno to a lineup that already includes Gutfeld, Perino, and Watters signals that Fox intends to keep its grip on the 5 p.m. hour.
Compagno's promotion also reflects a broader pattern at Fox, where the network has invested in building its female talent pipeline. Carley Shimkus and other Fox women have become prominent faces across the network's programming in recent years.
Whether the "Outnumbered" seat stays empty for weeks or months, and who ultimately fills it, will say something about where Fox sees its midday programming headed. For now, the network is concentrating firepower on its flagship.
Meanwhile, Fox's internal dynamics remain a subject of interest for viewers and critics alike. Recent friction over Fox News Sunday showed that even the network's most loyal audience expects accountability from its anchors and producers.
Compagno earned her seat at the bigger table the old-fashioned way, by showing up every day at noon and giving viewers a reason to trust her. In a media world that rewards flash over substance, that still counts for something.
