named permanent anchor of the weekend edition of Fox & Friends. In June 2011, rival cable news channel CNN began programming in the hour, with a one-hour extension of American Morning titled Wake Up Call, which was replaced in January 2012 following American Mornings cancellation by the two-hour Early Start. MSNBC already had started its news programming at that hour with two half-hour shows: Morning Joe First Look, a general news program which had aired since the mid-2000s, and Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire (which leads into Morning Joe), which debuted in July 2009. In March 2012, Fox News confirmed that it was expanding its morning programming to begin at . The new one-hour show was named Fox & Friends First and serves as a lead-in to Fox & Friends. It debuted on March 5, 2012. In its first week on the air, Fox & Friends First averaged more total viewers than other programs at CNN and MSNBC in the same time slot combined. In October 2017, Fox News announced that the show will be expanded to two hours from to . The hour would be anchored solely by Heather Childers, and Jillian Mele and Rob Schmitt would present the hour. In July 2020, Childers had parted ways with Fox News after executives had expressed concern and anger about her coming to work and appearing visibly ill on air several months earlier during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Jillian Mele was replaced by Carley Shimkus as a co-anchor. Location Fox & Friends First is broadcast from Studio J at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building), New York City. On March 19, 2018, Fox & Friends First has relocated to Studio D from its original location in Studio J for construction. The team moved back to Studio J on June 19, 2018. References External links Fox & Friends First 2012 American television series debuts 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows English-language television shows Fox News original programming