Hoda Kotb gave fans a major update ahead of her upcoming Today departure.
The TV personality, 60, will officially be leaving the NBC morning show on January 10, 2025. “That will be our party day. So, we’re gonna throw a party,” she shared during the Thursday, November 14, episode.
Savannah Guthrie added that the entire Today family will “spend a whole week celebrating” Kotb before she says goodbye.
It was announced on Thursday that Craig Melvin will be taking over Kotb’s role as Guthrie’s Today coanchor. According to Guthrie, 52, the show’s staff learned the news that morning and “broke into applause.”
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Melvin, 45, said he is “beyond excited and grateful” to be following in Kotb’s footsteps, adding, “I want to, obviously, thank NBC and the folks here who deemed me worthy. … I’ve enjoyed just a lifetime of blessings, and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”
Melvin joined the Today show family in 2018 as a news anchor on the show’s first and second hours. He also serves as a third hour cohost alongside Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer. Melvin — who shares kids Delano, 10, and Sybil, 8, with wife Lindsay Czarniak — will continue to cohost the third hour.
“You know what this job is, it’s a lot of long days and short nights, and [Lindsay’s] been there for me from the beginning,” he gushed on Thursday.
Kotb, for her part, told Melvin that he was “made for this job,” adding, “You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”
He returned the kind words by calling Kotb and his fellow female cohosts his “sisters.” He said: “[Hoda], you’ve been the heart of this place for a long time. You helped save this show. … I’ll try not to screw it up!”
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Per Today.com, Melvin will begin his role as Guthrie’s coanchor on January 13, 2025. Kotb’s replacement for Today With Hoda & Jenna has not been selected, and the show will continue as Today With Jenna & Friends with a rotating lineup of guest hosts until a permanent choice is made.
“We are beyond thrilled to have Craig step into the co-anchor chair,” Today’s senior vice president, Libby Leist, said in a statement on Thursday. “He’s been an integral and beloved part of our family. From breaking news coverage in the field, to presidential interviews, to multiple Olympics and Super Bowls, Craig’s shown he has the talent and the range to cover all that we do here at Today. And he does it without ever losing that Southern charm.”
Kotb announced her Today exit during the show’s September 26 episode after nearly 30 years at NBC. She cited turning 60 and wanting to spend more time with her kids — Haley, 7, and Hope, 7 — as the motivations behind her decision.
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“I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking they deserve a bigger piece of my time, the pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time,” she explained. “And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world.”
Melvin later praised Kotb’s kindness on air, stating, “People in this business, when that little red light, when it goes off, they’re different people. We’ve worked with all these people before. You’re the opposite. When that little red light goes off, you are exactly like people see you in the morning — just the biggest heart. You’ve been the heart of the show for a long time, and there’s no replacing that.”
