The McLaughlin Group Returns To Public Television In September

The McLaughlin Group, a pioneer among politica TV talk shows, returns to public  television in September when weekly episodes begin airing on Maryland Public Television (MPT). Viewers in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area will have two opportunities to view the 30-minute program each weekend. A new episode will air  Friday evenings at 11:30 p.m. and again Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. on MPT-HD,  starting Friday, September  6. 

Maryland Public Television and The McLaughlin Group’s production company, Re-Group  Media, LLC, have entered into an agreement to produce and distribute the weekly  series. The program will be recorded each Friday at a Washington, D.C studio.     

As presenting station, MPT will market, promote, and distribute the program  nationally through an agreement with American Public Television, a leading syndicator of programming for U.S. public television stations. The McLaughlin Group  will begin airing exclusively on public television stations nationwide and digital  platforms in January 2020. 

Tom  Rogan, noted political writer and commentator, is back to host the series.  Rogan replaced original host John McLaughlin, who died in 2016. He is joined by  longtime regular panel members Pat Buchanan, Eleanor Clift, and Clarence Page.  Guest panelists will also appear on the program on a regular basis. The panel will  continue to engage in lively political discourse covering current and emerging  issues of the day, as well as topics of interest to voters during the current election cycle. 

The program’s content will be uninterrupted  by  commercial  messages. 

"As a trusted supplier of quality national programs and given our proximity to the  nation’s capital, MPT is well-positioned to work with Re-Group Media to return The  McLaughlin Group to its home on public TV," explains  MPT  President and CEO Larry  D. Unger. "Our team is eager to relaunch this esteemed series not only for the benefit of our viewers but fans of the program across the country."

The McLaughlin Group originated on public television in 1982 and continued  uninterrupted until iconic host John McLaughlin’s death. The original incarnation  of the series aired on PBS member stations and the WORLD Channel as well as on some  local commercial TV stations. It was distributed through WTTW in Chicago. The  series returned in 2018 for one season on WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. 

"The McLaughlin Group is an American original," says Seth Berenzweig, series executive producer and president and CEO of Re-Group Media. "Our panel  remains  experienced, balanced, and highly professional  –  and perhaps most important  –  it remains together. Generations of Americans have come to rely on our team’s ability  to bring clarity and truth to political discourse. MPT and public television is the perfect home for our series."