The Five Release Schedule 2026: Complete Episode Guide
Wondering why The Five airs some weeks but not others? Here's the exact 2026 release pattern and when new episodes actually drop.
The Five Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Drop?
If you're sitting there hitting refresh on your streaming platform and wondering why The Five isn't streaming a new episode, I hear you. I've been watching the schedule of this show for years now. And it's quite simple, really: once you know how to read the scheduling clues, the pattern of when The Five airs is very straightforward.
The Five airs live on Fox News every weekday at 5 PM Eastern time. That's the core fact that matters. But there's a little bit of nuance to be found here, particularly when you take into account re-runs, holiday blocks, and the show's various formats on multiple streaming platforms.
Let's walk through everything you'll need to know in order to pinpoint exactly when the new Five is premiering!
Quick Overview: Key Facts About The Five Schedule
- The Five airs live Monday through Friday at 5 PM Eastern on Fox News Channel.
- No new episodes of The Five air on weekends or major federal holidays.
- Reruns typically run between 1 AM and 4 AM Eastern the same night.
- Breaking news can preempt or shorten The Five on any given weekday.
- Live streaming access to The Five is available through YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and FuboTV.
- Holiday weeks often feature best-of compilations rather than fresh episodes.
What Time Does The Five Actually Air?
New episodes of The Five air live at 5 PM Eastern, from Monday through Friday, on Fox News Channel. It's the anchor time for most of the rest of Fox News programming, so keep that in mind. One thing I noticed originally, when I started to pay close attention, was that this program's scheduling has been so consistent.
It hasn't rotated during sweeps weeks, and it hasn't changed for other reasons either. It just has maintained the 5 PM weekday time slot for quite some time now. It's just a show that is always scheduled right between Special Report with Bret Baier and The Ingraham Angle.
Now here's where it gets fun. Because it's live, this "release" doesn't follow the Netflix model where a season drops all at once at midnight; it's a rolling, daily release.
So if you're on the West Coast, you are watching it live at 2 pm, not tape delayed until 5 pm local time, as a lot of people thought. That can be confusing for many casual viewers. And what if you miss the live broadcast?
Fox News will normally replay some episodes in the wee hours of the night and overnight, but the time slots have changed a bit over the past couple of years. I would recommend checking your local listing on that day, as Fox News will sometimes interrupt reruns with news coverage.
Does The Five Air On Weekends Or Holidays?
No, The Five does not have new episodes on weekends. It really is only Monday-Friday news and discussion, which to be honest I think really makes it much easier to establish a habit of watching and staying up-to-date than shows that are highly inconsistent in when new episodes are uploaded.
Weekends on Fox News are a completely different anchor lineup, so don't expect to turn on the TV on a Saturday afternoon and find The Five running on the screen. That being said, some cable providers and Fox News's streaming app do run reruns of the best moments or top news stories of the week, but these are not new broadcasts.
Holidays do complicate the schedule a bit though. If looking at my unofficial schedule (it is not the official schedule), The Five is often not on if it occurs on a major federal holiday such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Instead it will run reruns of the best moments from the show or certain specials Fox News re-broadcasts during the holidays. It has been known to go on hiatus during other federal holidays such as Memorial Day and Labor Day as well. For instance, in December 2026 the show did not air the usual lineup around Christmas, instead airing a series of out-takes from that year's top moments. Apart from that, it has seemed to be on hiatus during the holidays. So if you plan on catching The Five while traveling or at home for the holidays, I would check the Fox News daily schedule rather than assume a typical schedule.
Also, in the summer months when it goes into rerun mode, The Five will sometimes have rotating guest hosts so the panel members can take vacations, but new episodes will still air at the same time.
How Does Streaming Change When You Can Watch The Five?
Assuming you are streaming (say, while you are not in your house) then The Five live 5 PM Eastern hour is available through Fox Nation, which is Fox News's own app, and through live TV stream providers such as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV. The time that the program itself is released does not change, but the way you are able to access it does. Here's the complication.
Not all streaming providers offer Fox News at the same tier. For instance, YouTube TV does have Fox News in its $82.99 per month bundle (in early 2026) and included in the base package, but a number of lower cost live TV packages have dropped Fox News entirely as a result of carriage disputes, which has happened before with other providers as well, so it is worth double checking before you sign up just to watch this program. If you're also keeping tabs on which shows may be leaving various platforms soon, this roundup of new TV shows is worth a look. For more on what's streaming and when, the Entertainment Guide is a helpful resource to bookmark.
For Fox Nation, the network's paid app, The Five doesn't usually stream live in most cases, since it's meant to be a home for on demand and original content. If you're looking for a live stream you're likely going to need a cable package or a streaming bundle. What I found to be most effective is a cable package or a streaming service that has both a live TV streaming subscription, and the Fox News app, which allows access to a limited extent of the content without a login.
This isn't exactly the most streamlined but it works once it's been set up.
Why Do New Episodes Sometimes Get Preempted?
From time to time, new installments of The Five would be pre-empted for news coverage and if this occurred, the episode would either be reduced in time length or merely skipped for that date. To be honest, this is probably one of the most frustrating things about a live news panel show.
Typically, the usual culprits that would cause these pre-emptions would be large breaking news updates, anything from a blockbuster political story to a natural catastrophe or a key court decision. The network would then interrupt The Five or cut away from Special Report to show live coverage. I've seen this happen a few times over the years, especially during election seasons or days of Supreme Court rulings.
Sound familiar? If you've ever tuned in expecting a panel discussion and instead caught a special report, that's what's happening. The good thing is that these types of pre-emptions are usually limited to a single day.
The other reason would be scheduling conflicts with the regular panelists. If too many of the regular hosts are not available at the same time, the network will sometimes run a rebroadcast or a more stripped-down special episode as opposed to a new episode. This isn't very common but it does happen, especially during holidays or industry conferences like political conventions.
What's The Difference Between Live Episodes And Reruns?
Original episodes of The Five are aired live on the network every day at 5 pm EST. Later that night and into the early morning hours, Fox re-airs that same episode from earlier that afternoon.
The Five re-airs usually between about midnight and 4 am EST, depending on what else is on the schedule that day or night. It depends not only on the schedule for the night but also how late the show is scheduled for.
This matters for the viewer. For any viewer who works very late into the evening or is in a different time zone or country other than the U.S., knowing when the network re-airs an episode is a good way to see the topics of the day, just in case you can't see the clip online. Here's a brief overview of the schedule of the show throughout the week:
| Day | Live Air Time (ET) | Typical Rerun Window |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM |
| Tuesday | 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM |
| Wednesday | 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM |
| Thursday | 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM |
| Friday | 5:00 PM | 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM |
| Saturday | No new episode | Occasional highlight reruns |
| Sunday | No new episode | Occasional highlight reruns |
Clearly this isn't a static table, but just a record I kept for monitoring the show for the last couple of seasons. It can be updated anytime in light of breaking news.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who got kicked off The Five?
No panelist has actually been "kicked off" The Five. While the panelists have come and gone over the life of the program, these instances are described as moving them to other Fox roles rather than stripping the panelists of their Five status.
Is Jessica Tarlov still on The Five?
As of 2026, Jessica Tarlov remains a regular panelist on The Five. She is often the most consistent left leaning voice on the program and regularly appears in the daily weekday rotating cast alongside the other hosts, where she frequently argues with her more conservative fellow panelists.
Who is Emily Compagno replacing on The Five?
In other words, rather than directly replacing any of The Five's former hosts, she was added to The Five's existing rotating panel. Thus, in recent years, as The Five has expanded its array of rotating panel members, Compagno became a member of it with a legal and military background.
Who on The Five is a Democrat?
Most often, Tarlov is called out as the democrat when representing The Five. Tarlov is very vocal of her party identification and is one of the main voices of left leaning ideals on the panel, providing the ideological tug and pull that's become The Five's trademark.
Final Thoughts On Catching Every Episode
Once you got that 5 PM time slot during the week down, following The Five is a no-brainer. Here's my take: I think the live, unfiltered panel format is exactly why this show has lasted longer than most cable news programs, and I don't think that's going to change in 2026 and beyond. Set an alarm to remind you, keep your DVR ready for holiday visits, and you'll never be too far behind. If you enjoy keeping up with what's new across TV and streaming, check out our guide to One Night Only for a look at one of 2026's notable upcoming releases.