FOX News makes major changes to 'The O'Reilly Factor' after Bill O'Reilly's swift departure

The show must go on!

After 21st Century Fox announced that they've officially dropped Bill O'Reilly amid scathing sexual harassment allegations, it didn't take long for FOX News to make some major changes.

O'Reilly's name was erased from his own show on Wednesday night, from "The O'Reilly Factor" to just "The Factor." Viewers instantly got a glimpse of the change during the opening graphic of the show.

Dana Perino served as a fill-in host and spent just over a minute saying goodbye to the longtime anchor who hosted the show for 20 years. Perino, who is a close friend of Megyn Kelly, began the show with a brief statement acknowledging O'Reilly's departure, but said she would address it in further detail later in the show.

At the very end of the show, the 44-year-old finally discussed O'Reilly in a prepared statement:

"Finally tonight, it is the end of an era here at the Fox News Channel. As we mentioned earlier, Bill O'Reilly is leaving this chair and this network after more than 20 years. Bill has been the undisputed king of cable news and for good reason. He is an incredibly talented broadcaster who raised the bar for interviewers everywhere. He has also held his staff to exacting standards in his quest to put the best possible program on the air and they are great. And you his audience responded in record numbers making The Factor the number one cable news show for more than 16 years. You have also been loyal and we can't tell you how much that means to everyone on 'The Factor.'"

According to Vanity Fair, the longtime anchor found out about his own termination en route to the airport while on a week-long vacation in Italy. Bill was photographed meeting with Pope Francis before finding out the bad news.

A couple of hours after the announcement, O'Reilly released an official statement, calling the decision "disheartening."

The swift decision comes after network executives reportedly held an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The decision also divided Rupert Murdoch and his sons, Lachlan and James, who disagreed on whether or not to keep the network star. Ultimately, Rupert agreed with his sons about letting O'Reilly go.

Tucker Carlson, who joined the prime time lineup just a few months ago, will now fill O'Reilly's 8 p.m. slot.

And while the worst seems to be over for the network, one FOX News insider says that's not the case, suggesting there are more women with stories of harassment: "There's more to come."