The Los Angeles Times profiles Melissa Harris-Perry, the newest addition to MSNBC’s weekend lineup. Harris-Perry, who commutes from New Orleans to New York on the weekends and avoids “usual D.C. pundits” as guests, is part of a new weekend trend on MSNBC:

Following in the footsteps of Chris Hayes, whose show “Up” leads into hers, Harris-Perry is the latest wonky and telegenic Nation magazine veteran to land a show on MSNBC. And, like Hayes, Harris-Perry got her start as a network contributor and guest host for [Rachel] Maddow before MSNBC president Phil Griffin convinced her to come onboard.

“I think what we’ve created with her and with Chris is a new kind of television on the weekends,” Griffin says. “This is about ideas, about depth, about interesting people from broad backgrounds who maybe don’t look like the traditional anchorman or woman, but really have a lot to bring.”