ANCHORS AWAY: What’s next for Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon?

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The cable news landscape changed dramatically last week when Fox News and Tucker Carlson “agreed to part ways,” and then Don Lemon announced his firing by CNN.

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Carlson’s departure appeared more amicable and was framed as a mutual decision, though there were reports that the Tucker Carlson Tonight host was blindsided by the move.

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Lemon’s firing, on the other hand, was much more telling of just how bad things had gotten between him and the network after he tweeted that he heard through his agent the network had spit him out like a sour candy – something CNN promptly denied.

So, what’s next for Carlson?

There will always be a demand for a man pushing a right-wing agenda, particularly one whose smiling face, diabolical laugh and sarcastic tone is matter-of-fact about his hatred for all things woke.

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Carlson was Fox News’ most popular host, as far as viewership goes, and seemed untouchable — until his name appeared in the Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit.

Fox settled for nearly $800 million so Carlson, Rupert Murdoch and others like Sean Hannity wouldn’t have to testify.

Then, bam! Carlson was out a week later. Coincidence? Not exactly.

Carlson is also named in a suit filed by another former Fox News employee that accused the network of exposing her and others to rampant sexism and discrimination.

Similarly, for Lemon, he may have a different problem moving forward following his own accusations of misogyny and general bad behaviour with co-workers and guests.

We all remember when the CNN This Morning co-anchor was blasted for saying 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime.”

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He was taken off air in February to undergo training following his “obviously discriminatory comments,” Toronto Sun columnist Sunira Chaudhri wrote, but returned to the show a few days later vowing to “do better.”

But his better wasn’t good enough. Reports of Lemon’s questionable conduct dates to when he was co-anchoring a weekday show with Kyra Phillips, to whom he reportedly sent disturbing text messages from an anonymous cellphone after she landed a high-profile assignment in Iraq that Lemon wanted. The texts were eventually traced to him.

All that said, there has only been speculation surrounding their firings but both could easily be chalked up to financial reasons, including the massive Fox court settlement.

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CNN boasts a smaller audience than Fox News but has seen a 34% decline in year-over-year viewership. There are other ways to save money but eliminating Lemon’s reported $7-million salary from the books and getting rid of a problematic player is a win-win.

For now, it seems a break is in order. Lemon told Extra at the Time 100 Gala he lives his life with “no regrets,” he’s a “survivor,” and the only thing he plans to do is spend the summer with his family “on the beach and on the boat” as he weighs his options.

Carlson, on the other hand, has not hinted at his next move but he did return in a video to criticize the U.S. media and political system and did sign off with a “See you soon.”

Perhaps a show that both star in? Carlson vs. Lemon? Tucker and Don in the Morning? We’d watch.