Tucker Carlson, the biggest prime time star on Fox News Channel, has departed from the cable news giant.

In a statement, Fox News announced that they have “agreed to part ways” with Carlson, thanking him for his service as a host and previous contributor.

According to the network, Carlson’s last episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired on Friday, April 21st.

In the interim, Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET with rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.

Carlson consistently topped the ratings during his time in prime time, attracting a massive audience that often surpassed several of his competitors combined.

We previously reported that even reruns of Carlson’s show often drew larger audiences than original programming on other networks.

Brian Stelter, former CNN media reporter, described Carlson’s departure as “earth-shattering” and highlighted that he would not have a farewell show.

Stelter suggested that without Carlson, Fox News might face difficulties in negotiating with potential distributors, as the popular host had become bigger than the network itself.

Fox News is currently pushing for higher carriage fees from distributors, and without Carlson, the network has less leverage.

Carlson’s abrupt exit comes less than a week after Fox News settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for just under $800 million, narrowly avoiding a trial in which Carlson would have been expected to testify.

Additionally, the news follows the announcement by syndicated talk radio host and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino that he was leaving Fox News due to a breakdown in contract negotiations.

Bongino addressed his departure on his podcast, assuring listeners that there was no acrimony or conspiracy behind the decision.

Instead, he explained that they simply could not agree on an extension for his contract.

As of now, Carlson has not publicly commented on his departure, and no information has surfaced regarding his potential future plans.