The Early Show Cast & Crew

At the show's debut, CBS promised "a fresh, new twist on the traditional morning news program: four anchors reporting the top stories of the day, interviews and features, but in a more flexible and spontaneous format." The network needed a new idea to compete with rival morning news programs, especially NBC's "Today." Michael Bass is the senior executive producer. The show went to a format of five co-anchors in 2006, including stalwart Harry Smith and "Big Brother" host (and wife of CBS chairman Les Moonves) Julie Chen.