Inside Fox News’ Most Dangerous Experiment Yet: Greg Gutfeld and Sandra Smith’s Forced Alliance Could Make — or Break — “The Five”

In the cutthroat world of cable news, the rule is simple: if it isn’t broken, you don’t touch it. For over a decade, The Five has been Fox News’ crown jewel of daytime programming — a ratings juggernaut immune to rivals, impossible to dethrone. The formula seemed untouchable.

Until now.

Fox’s recent announcement landed like a thunderclap: The Five would undergo a fundamental overhaul, pairing its irreverent, sharp-tongued jester-king Greg Gutfeld with the network’s polished, unflappable news anchor Sandra Smith as the new co-anchors.

This is not just a programming tweak. It’s a high-stakes, made-for-TV marriage between two polar opposite personalities — and two clashing visions of what modern conservatism should look like.

Two Titans, One Stage

On one end of the spectrum stands Greg Gutfeld — the breakout star of Fox’s late-night landscape, a man whose Gutfeld! has defied the odds and dominated ratings in a slot once thought unwinnable. He’s brash, unpredictable, fiercely loyal to the MAGA base, and just as comfortable making a biting joke about woke culture as he is skewering political opponents.

To his fans, Gutfeld is more than a host — he’s a cultural warrior, the loud and unapologetic voice of an America that feels ignored by “serious” media.

On the other end is Sandra Smith — measured, composed, and anchored in traditional journalistic credibility. A veteran business and political reporter, she represents the Fox News of another era: buttoned-up, fact-driven, projecting authority and balance (or at least the appearance of it). To viewers who still want a dose of straight news alongside opinion, she’s a trusted voice.

Why Fox Is Doing This Now

For years, these two archetypes — Gutfeld’s anti-establishment fire and Smith’s establishment polish — coexisted within Fox’s sprawling lineup, rarely colliding. Each served a different audience segment, with occasional overlap.

So why force them together now?

Insiders say it’s about more than “balance.” The network is wrestling with its own identity crisis: how to keep the MAGA faithful energized while maintaining a veneer of credibility that keeps advertisers and moderates from fleeing.

By yoking Gutfeld and Smith together at the helm of The Five, Fox is attempting to merge its two “souls” into one powerhouse show — one that can keep both sides watching, buying, and believing.

It’s a gamble born of strategic anxiety, and it’s happening in plain sight.

The Risk Factor: Oil and Water?

The very traits that made each star successful could just as easily blow the experiment apart.

Gutfeld thrives on unpredictability and provocation. His comedy often skirts the edges of political correctness, and sometimes barrels right past them. He feeds on the energy of an audience that cheers disruption.

Smith, in contrast, plays by the rules. She’s calm, disciplined, and invested in structured, fact-based conversation. She appeals to viewers who recoil from chaos and want their political commentary to feel… well, like news.

Can they meet in the middle without alienating their respective audiences?

If they clash on-air — and insiders say sparks are inevitable — will it be entertaining chemistry or a ratings disaster?

The Audience Tightrope

Fox’s core viewers are not a monolith. The Gutfeld crowd sees him as the renegade truth-teller; some may view Smith as an “establishment” presence there to water him down. Conversely, the Smith loyalists could see Gutfeld’s edgy humor as abrasive, undermining the program’s credibility.

Lose one audience, and you risk losing both.

If The Five’s new pairing alienates its base or fails to convert skeptics, it could fracture a viewership Fox has spent decades cultivating. That’s not just a ratings dip — it’s an existential blow in the hyper-competitive cable news market.

The Stakes for Fox News

This move is more than programming; it’s a public test of whether the two factions of modern conservatism can share the same stage.

In many ways, The Five has always been a microcosm of the conservative movement — a blend of bombast, analysis, humor, and ideology. Now, it’s become the stage for Fox’s internal tug-of-war.

If Gutfeld and Smith can create a show that satisfies both camps, Fox will have cracked the code on navigating the post-Trump era without hemorrhaging viewers to rival outlets.

If they can’t? It will be a very public unraveling.

Best-Case Scenario

In the dream scenario for Fox executives, the Gutfeld–Smith pairing evolves into a hybrid model that combines the sharp wit and cultural commentary of Gutfeld! with the steadiness and credibility of a traditional news desk.

Think “The Odd Couple,” but with the budget, platform, and reach to redefine daytime political television. Such a blend could expand Fox’s appeal to younger viewers without losing older loyalists — a balance no network has truly mastered.

Worst-Case Scenario

The nightmare outcome is just as clear: the hosts never gel, on-air tension becomes awkward instead of electric, and viewers peel off in both directions — Gutfeld’s crowd retreating to purer, less polished MAGA programming, and Smith’s audience seeking calmer, less combative alternatives.

Such a failure wouldn’t just bruise Fox’s ego. It would signal that the ideological split within conservatism has become too wide to bridge under one brand.

Why Everyone Will Be Watching

In an industry where programming changes are often shrugged off, this one feels different. It’s not just a test of two personalities — it’s a referendum on the future of Fox News itself.

Will the network double down on its entertainment-driven, culture-war edge, or will it reassert itself as a credible news operation with broad appeal? Can it do both?

The Gutfeld–Smith experiment will give us the answer, and it will do so in real time, in front of millions.

Bottom Line:
This is Fox News’ boldest — and riskiest — move in years. The Five’s new co-anchor duo embodies the network’s two battling identities, forced into a partnership that could either rewrite the rules of conservative media or blow up in spectacular fashion.

The future of the show, and perhaps the network, now hinges on whether Greg Gutfeld’s unpredictable fire and Sandra Smith’s steady hand can find common ground — or whether their differences will prove to be the crack that splits Fox News down the middle.

For now, all anyone can do is watch… and wait.