Former CNN "Crossfire" commentator Tucker Carlson will get a prime time show on MSNBC, the cable channel announced Wednesday.

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MSNBC President Rick Kaplan said Carlson would start work next week and the show would premiere in the second quarter of 2005.

Carlson was part of the talent line-up on CNN's "Crossfire" until CNN canceled the show. Kaplan said Carlson would continue as host of his weekly PBS show "Tucker Carlson Unfiltered" while working for MSNBC.

"He is without a doubt one of the sharpest minds and best writers in this business," Kaplan said.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to do something creative and original in cable television," Carlson said.

Carlson has been a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers including the New York Times, the Weekly Standard, the Wall Street Journal and Esquire.