Stephen A. Smith has confirmed that Skip Bayless will be back on First Take in a recurring role, with the pairing set to return on the last Friday of every month starting next week.
The announcement came Friday afternoon while Bayless was joining Smith on his SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio show, turning what had already become a one-day reunion earlier this year into something more regular. Bayless had been away from for a decade before that earlier appearance, and the idea now is to bring him back without overdoing it.
A scheduled reunion, not a one-off
Smith framed the move with the sort of confidence and theatre that has long defined the show. “On Fridays, yours truly and the one and only Skip Bayless will be joining me on this show,” he said, before adding, “That’s every Friday, the beatdown is coming, my condolences to you.”
The key detail is that this is not a full-time return. Bayless will appear on First Take on the last Friday of every single month, giving the programme a recurring dose of the Bayless-Smith dynamic while keeping the reunion rare enough to feel like an event.
That approach makes sense for a TV debate show built on chemistry, friction and instantly shareable moments. The plan is to create viral clips and headlines without exhausting the pairing, especially after the one-day reunion earlier this year showed there was still appetite for the old format. Earlier this year, Bayless described that reunion as the most fun he had in a long time, which only added to the sense that the two still know how to work off each other.
What Bayless said about the reunion
Bayless was equally open about the appeal of getting back across from Smith. “I am personally highly entertained by getting to sit across from you,” he said. “You are a one and an only, and I do believe what you and I had, and will have, is a one and an only.”
That is the heart of this decision. It is not simply about nostalgia. It is about two personalities whose exchanges still carry enough weight to command attention, especially when they are placed back in the familiar First Take setting.
Smith’s message — “You are back, my brother” — made the tone plain. This is being sold as a reunion, but a controlled one, with the last Friday of every month now set aside for the kind of debate television that can still cut through.
For, that means Bayless and Smith are no longer just a one-day story. Starting next week, the show has a fixed monthly event built around one of its most recognisable duos, and that gives First Take a new recurring hook without pretending the old partnership is returning in full.
