Many Fox News fans missed an important tidbit when the network dismissed Bill O’Reilly earlier this week: Jesse Watters will move into a permanent role on “The Five” when it shifts to primetime.

Watters, an O’Reilly protégé, rose to fame with his popular man-on-the-street segments during “The O’Reilly Factor.” He will now join Kimberly Guilfoyle, Dana Perino, Bob Beckel, Greg Gutfeld, and Juan Williams on “The Five” when it shifts from 5 p.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET to fill the primetime spot that suddenly opened up when O’Reilly was removed.

Watters replaces Eric Bolling, who will stay at 5 p.m. ET and be part of a new one-hour program scheduled to debut on May 1. “The Five” is regularly among the highest-rated shows in all of cable news and it is expected to grow in viewership when it moves to the more favorable timeslot.

Also Read: Fox News' Jesse Watters: His 9 Most Offensive Moments (Videos)





Honored to be joining @TheFive at 9pm. @WattersWorld stays Saturdays at 8pm. Very grateful for my time on The Factor & excited for next step pic.twitter.com/uy9NeX0oXv — Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) April 20, 2017









Watters had quite a year in 2016, getting into a fight with a Huffington Post editor who was attempting to film him during a party. He was also condemned by New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio after a segment on Chinatown that offended some people and even helped a liberal arts college decide they should fly the American flag.

2017 has been a significant improvement for Watters. He started off the year by landing his own show, “Watters World,” which will continue to air on Saturday nights. In addition, he will now have a permanent spot on one of the most-watched shows in cable news.

Watters joined Fox News in 2002 as a production assistant and worked with “The O’Reilly Factor” since 2003.

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