Chris Cuomo returns to cable after being fired by CNN, becoming 'free agent' in Ukraine

Former CNN prime time host Chris Cuomo is returning to cable news, less than a year after being dropped by the major network for using his media sources to advise his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, through his sexual harassment scandal.

The self-proclaimed "free agent" has landed a new prime time gig at NewsNation, formerly known as WGN America, which is a much smaller network that is apparently still trying to build their audience, reported The Washington Post.

"Cuomo Primetime" was the most popular CNN program when he was ousted after his ethics scandal, but now Cuomo will be anchoring a show that struggles to gain viewership. While Cuomo’s CNN show averaged 2 million nightly viewers in 2020, his last full year on the network, NewsNation reportedly averaged just 46,000 viewers during prime time last year.

Since being released from CNN, Cuomo has kept busy by launching The Chris Cuomo Project, a podcast sharing dispatches from war-torn Ukraine on Instagram, and even applied to be a volunteer firefighter in the Hamptons — though he later revoked his application due to the time commitment.

Cuomo announced that he’d be joining the network in his first interview since his public shaming, in a Tuesday night appearance with NewsNation’s Dan Abrams, a former ABC News colleague from when Cuomo was the co-anchor for ABC's 20/20 prior to leaving for CNN in 2013. Other familiar anchors include former CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield, former Fox News journalist Leland Vittert and former ABC News journalist Adrienne Bankert.

Sean Compton, an executive of Nexstar, NewsNation's parent company, said that adding Cuomo "will further our efforts to continue to ensure fairness and transparency in our news reporting and talk shows."

"I’m going to come to NewsNation and I want to build something special here," Cuomo said in the interview with Abrams.

The disgraced anchor claimed that he opted to join a smaller network based on his morals perspective, but there have been no reports of him having any other offers.

"I had decided that I can’t go back to what people see as 'the big game,'" Cuomo said. "I don’t think I can make a difference there. I think we need insurgent media. I think we need outlets that aren't fringe and just trying to fill their pockets."

At the time of his brother's sexual harassment scandal, CNN said that the former Cuomo Prime Time star had violated its journalistic standards, which led to his termination last December.

However, Cuomo denied all wrongdoing to Abrams. "I never lied and there were no secrets," he said.

Cuomo's new career announcement comes as he is in the middle of court proceedings with his former employer, as he sued CNN for a whopping $125 million in damages after getting fired.

Cuomo's new show is scheduled to premiere in the fall.