‘Extra’ Kicks Off Milestone 30th Season With New Reporters
Extra announced Mona Kosar Abdi and Megan Ryte have joined the Emmy Award-winning entertainment news series for its milestone 30th season set to premiere on Monday, September 11. Kosar Abdi will serve as a senior correspondent and weekend co-host based in New York, and Ryte will be a correspondent based in Los Angeles, joining host Billy Bush and senior correspondent/weekend co-host Melvin Robert.
The announcement was made today by Extra executive producers Theresa Coffino and Jeremy Spiegel: “We are thrilled to welcome Mona and Megan to the team,” they said. “Between Mona’s experience in news and her enthusiasm for celebrity and pop culture, and Megan’s background in radio and music, both will bring a fresh perspective to the show as we move into our 30th milestone of being… EXTRA!”
Kosar Abdi added: “I am really excited to be joining the team at Extra as the show enters its 30th season. I am thrilled to be able to contribute to this iconic program and mark this momentous milestone. I’m also grateful and honored to be working with a talented team that has positioned Extra as a dominant force in entertainment news for the last three decades.”
Ryte said, “I’ve been a part of the Extra family for the past few years, but it’s so exciting to now be an official member of the team! Very few shows make it to 30, and I’m thrilled to bring my unique background to the show and join the team that’s at the forefront of entertainment!”
Previously, Kosar Abdi worked for ABC News, where she served as an anchor and national correspondent for the network. Kosar Abdi led coverage for a number of news stories from the anchor desk, including the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 presidential election. She also traveled the country reporting on breaking news for the ABC programs Good Morning America and World News Tonight.
During her time at ABC News, Kosar Abdi reported and produced several long-form stories for Nightline, ABC News Live and Hulu that examined the intersection between culture, music, and identity.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Kosar Abdi began her career in local news with stops in Ohio, Virginia and California. She is from San Diego, California, and holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies, political science, and communications from University of California, San Diego.
Ryte also is a contributing correspondent for Good Morning America, Nightline’s IMPACTon Hulu and ABC News, and has a weekly segment on ABC News Live titled “The Drop,” where she breaks down the hottest news in music.
A veteran in the music industry, Ryte began her professional journey as an ambitious teenager spinning at parties in Hampton, Virginia. Soon after, she worked her way through multiple markets, including Miami, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Houston, and now New York City.
Prior to working on stories and “Pop News” for Good Morning America, she broke into local television news at KRIV (Fox 26) in Houston, Texas. In 2016, Ryte worked as a special projects reporter and host at WNYW Fox 5 New York. In 2019, she began working the red carpets for Extra as a special correspondent. In 2022, Ryte was a regular on The Tamron Hall Show. She has also been featured on MTV, VH1, BET, HBO, NBC, ABC and A&E.
Kicking off season 30 from the top of the Empire State Building, which will be lit up in Extra‘s colors to commemorate the anniversary, Extra continues to deliver breaking entertainment and pop culture news like no other show. Host Billy Bush and the Extra team are the most skilled journalists and connected reporters in the genre, allowing Extra to break stories, land exclusive interviews, and go more in-depth on Hollywood’s biggest headlines. As part of the season 30 celebration, Extra will air some of its most memorable and headline-making interviews during those three decades, from a young Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts to a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez. There will also be a special series dedicated to the landmark moments of those years, including Extra’s coverage of the biggest celebrity weddings, news events, and scandals.
Cleared to date for season 30 in over 95% of the country, Extra has been renewed by Fox Television Stations, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, TEGNA, Hearst, CBS, Scripps Broadcasting, Weigel Broadcasting, Sunbeam Television, Draper Media, Entravision, Circle City Broadcasting, McKinnon Broadcasting, News-Press & Gazette Company, Waterman Broadcasting and Marks Radio Group, Gray, Coastal Television, Mission, Allen Media, Morgan Murphy, American Spirit, Lilly-SJL, Imagicomm, Block, Standard, Morris, Heartland.
Helmed by executive producers Theresa Coffino and Jeremy Spiegel, Extra offers a half-hour edition every weekday and an original hour-long weekend installment for 52 weeks a year. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. More information can be found at www.extratv.com.
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