“CBS Evening News” Returns to N.Y.C. with a Twist: Inside the Making of a New, Dual-Anchor Broadcast (Exclusive)

CBS Evening News is returning to its New York City roots as the network reimagines its legacy broadcast in a modern era.

After more than five years in Washington, D.C., with Norah O'Donnell at the desk, the weeknight broadcast is moving back to the CBS Broadcast Center's historic Studio 47 in Manhattan, where Dan Rather led the show for 24 years.

CBS veterans John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois were tapped to succeed O'Donnell as co-anchors of the new CBS Evening News, which premieres on Monday, Jan. 27. But the duo will be part of a regular ensemble that also includes political insight from Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan and immersive weather reports from chief weathercaster Lonnie Quinn.

Related: John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois Tapped to Co-Anchor Reimagined CBS Evening News Broadcast

PEOPLE spoke with the new reporting crew ahead of the show's launch to get the inside scoop on the return to the Big Apple, the revamp of Studio 47 and the players who will bring the show to life with a bold new format each evening.

The network used CBS Evening News' latest transition as an opportunity to refocus its storytelling approach and make high-tech upgrades to the studio, which has been out of commission and operating as a workspace since 2016.

"People have the news all day in their pockets, and we’re not trying to compete with that," Dickerson, 56, tells PEOPLE of the team's vision. "What we can share is the perspective that comes from the deep reporting that our correspondents do. That’s a CBS News strength — our experienced correspondents and the people working on the show who have spent their lives trying to figure out how to make a complicated world understandable."

While nightly newscasts have historically been structured as a series of packaged segments presented by a lead anchor at the desk, CBS Evening News — under the direction of incoming executive producer Guy Campanile and supervising producer Bill Owens — will put less weight on the talent in the studio and more emphasis on the stories that Dickerson and DuBois explore in live time with correspondents around the world.

"John and I will debrief our correspondents each night," DuBois, 59, explains. "You’ll get context and insight. It will feel like people you know describing incredible things that they just witnessed. I’m excited to give our viewers nuggets of info that they won’t get anywhere else."

As Dickerson notes, New York City is a logical place for the broadcast to be stationed. "So much flows through New York," he says, including "finance, culture, and international stories."

But while the CBS Broadcast Center may be home once again, the show has no plans to abandon its Washington perspective during a turbulent time in politics. That's where Brennan, who remains deeply embedded in the nation's capital, comes in.

"I've spent a good portion of my career reporting in both cities. Washington is the center of political power, where decisions are made that impact the lives of people watching our broadcasts all over the country," Brennan, 44, says. "An educated electorate is essentially to a functioning democracy, and our mission as journalists is to help inform that electorate."

Related: How Face the Nation Host Margaret Brennan Became the Star of Sunday Mornings: 'I Didn't Ever Imagine It'

As the chief foreign affairs correspondent and moderator of Face the Nation, Brennan will share her findings from conversations with government power-players and be the broadcast's first string for political analysis.

"I'm excited about us being able to get more in-depth pieces on the air," she says. "This conversational new format allows our correspondents to open their reporter’s notebook and be able to explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the day’s headlines."

With natural disasters and inclement weather becoming an increasingly important aspect of national news, Quinn — who earned local recognition as the lead weather anchor for CBS New York — will also play a core role in the broadcast's weather coverage, utilizing a virtual reality studio to immerse viewers into the scenes that he's describing.

"It allows me to break the mold of just pointing at maps, to interacting with state-of-the-art visuals that illustrate the weather as I report what’s happening on-the-ground," Quinn, 61, says. "For example, when there was unimaginable snow that fell across New Orleans, I didn’t just tell the viewers about it. Because of augmented reality and virtual reality, I stood over the Louisiana coastline and walked viewers through what occurred."

"For the last 25 years, I have been in love with my job, but I never imagined I would have the chance to explain the weather with tools like this," he adds, calling this new opportunity the "pinnacle" of his career. "It is a weathercast that is visually stunning and interactive."

The dynamic new team has never worked together in quite this way, but the experience won't be entirely new. All have contributed to the CBS Evening News before, and many have crossed paths throughout their careers.

DuBois, a longtime co-anchor at CBS News New York, has worked alongside Quinn, who did the weather reports for the local network.

Dickerson — whose mother, Nancy Dickerson, made broadcasting history in 1960 as CBS' first female correspondent — preceded Brennan as moderator of Face the Nation.

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Most recently, in the final days before their premiere, DuBois, Dickerson and Brennan anchored a special primetime report together for the inauguration on Jan. 20.

"Everything feels organic and natural," Quinn says of the dynamic between co-anchors Dickerson and DuBois. "I've been captivated just watching our rehearsals."

"Having a partner think through the delivery of the news, what's required to get it right, is a real benefit," adds Dickerson, who describes himself as nervous but excited for what's in store. "Plus, [Maurice] is very easy company. I expected him to be smart and broad minded, but the wry wit is such a joy."

"We’ve spent the last couple months rehearsing and planning the broadcast and learning that we’ve got a lot in common in life and in terms of what we believe matters to our viewers," DuBois says of Dickerson. "Couldn’t ask for a better partner as we set out on this journey!"

The all-new CBS Evening News launches on Monday, Jan. 27, on CBS. Tune in at 6:30 p.m. ET or check your local listings.

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