Hoda Kotb’s Today Show Replacement Is…
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It’s the end of an era. After more than five years co-anchoring NBC’s Today show (and 26 years at NBC), Hoda Kotb announced her plans to leave the show in early 2025. She made the tearful announcement on the September 26 show, reflecting on what prompted her to make the decision. But who will replace Hoda in the historic spot? A familiar face will be taking her seat.
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Who will replace Hoda Kotb on Today?
Craig Melvin
Craig Melvin was confirmed as Kotb’s replacement for Today on November 14. He currently co-anchors the Today show’s 9 a.m. hour, so he’s a familiar face and well-liked by viewers. He left MSNBC to focus on NBC News and joined the Today show as a news anchor in August 2018. In October that year, he became a co-host for the third hour of the show. He also is a fill-in and substitute anchor for Today and NBC Nightly News. Melvin will co-anchor alongside Savannah Guthrie for the 7 and 8 a.m. hours, beginning on January 13, 2025.
Today also confirmed that Melvin will not be replacing Kotb for her fourth-hour segment, Today With Hoda & Jenna. Instead Jenna Bush Hager will be joined by rotating guest co-hosts during the fourth hour show, which will be called Jenna & Friends beginning on January 13 until a permanent co-host is named.
In an October 9 interview with People, Kotb gave the perfect advice for the person who takes on the role when she’s gone. “Whoever’s interested in that seat, and it’s maybe the best seat in television, I think the best advice I have is to be 1,000% who you are, because that’s really the key,” Kotb said.
“And the other thing, too, is sometimes to me, part of the magic is to be able to delight in the person sitting next to you,” she added. “It’s such a small thing, but sometimes when you’re with someone, if you just let them shine. Give everyone a second, because who wants to be the person at the cocktail party who’s talking all the time?”
Who else could’ve replaced Hoda Kotb on Today?
Meet the other possible replacements before Melvin.
Tom Llamas
Tom Llamas joined NBC News in 2022, serving as Senior National Correspondent and anchor for NBC News Now. He also hosts Top Story with Tom Llamas and is a fill-in and substitute news anchor for Today and NBC Nightly News. Llamas took to X to share a sweet message to Kotb following her announcement. “A big career but an even bigger heart. @hodakotb is a friend, mentor, and inspiration to so many of us. Her hard work, compassion, and connection with viewers is why #Hoda is a name everyone knows. Thank you Hoda for being so cool and always being there for us.”
Dylan Dreyer
Filling Kotb’s shoes for the fourth hour with Bush Hager will require someone with loads of personality and, until a permanent host is selected, there will be a rotating lineup of guest co-hosts. Dylan Dreyer seems like a likely fit, however. She co-hosts the third hour of Today and serves as the weekday weather correspondent as well as meteorologist for NBC’s Nightly News with Lester Holt. She would definitely have an ease sitting alongside Bush Hager for Today‘s fourth hour, which has more relaxed vibe.
On September 26, Kotb shared her bombshell news on the Today show. “I have some news. So I was doing the math and I realized that I have spent 26 years at NBC — be cool, be cool,” she started. “I just turned 60, and it was such a monumental moment for me when I turned 60 years old… What does that decade mean? What does it hold, what’s it going to have for me? And I realize that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new.”
Kotb reflected on the moment she realized the shift — while celebrating her birthday on the show. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with all these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
She also added that her kids played a role in the decision. Kotb, who is mom to Haley, 7, and Hope, 5, explained, “Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time 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.”
For more on morning shows, check out who Good Morning America‘s hosts and anchors are dating or married to in real life.
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