Janai Norman, a co-anchor of Good Morning America Weekend, will not return to the ABC morning program after the network declined to renew her contract, multiple media outlets reported Monday. Norman, 36, who joined ABC as an intern in 2011, had been a fixture on the weekend edition since 2022, co-hosting alongside Whit Johnson and Gio Benitez.
Norman’s rise through ABC News included stints as a New York correspondent and anchoring several of the network’s off-hours programs, including World News Now and America This Morning. She also fronted ABC’s lifestyle series Oh Baby! and previously worked at local television stations in Florida, Missouri and Oklahoma before landing at the network. The exact date of her final broadcast has not been disclosed, and ABC has not commented publicly on whether she will be replaced.
The departure marks another notable change in the network morning lineup at a time of broader movement across broadcast news. It follows the recent departure of ABC News correspondent Matt Guttman to CBS and comes just a week after Peter Alexander announced he was leaving NBC after three decades; Alexander was later named an anchor and chief national reporter at MS Now, the channel formerly known as MSNBC. Industry observers say talent shifts among morning shows and national news desks have accelerated in recent months as networks reposition programming and personnel.
Norman’s exit removes one of the younger on-air faces from the weekend program. Producers had added her to GMA Weekend’s roster when the show sought to refresh its presentation in 2022, pairing her with the more established Johnson and Benitez. Her background in overnight and early-morning news programs had made her a familiar presence to viewers who follow ABC’s dayparted broadcast schedule.
Details about Norman’s next steps are not yet known. Insiders who previously worked with her say she has cultivated a profile that could lead to other on-air roles or expansion of her work in lifestyle programming, but there has been no public announcement of future plans. The network’s silence on replacements leaves open the possibility of an internal promotion or an external hire for the weekend anchor chair.
ABC’s decision not to renew Norman’s contract comes amid wider industry questions about how networks balance long-running franchises with turnover among on-air talent. As GMA Weekend prepares for the months ahead, viewers and advertisers alike will be watching how the show fills the vacancy and whether further adjustments to anchors or format are forthcoming.