What To Know
- Savannah Guthrie revealed that Hoda Kotb will return to Today to fill in for another host next week.
- Kotb recently served as Savannah’s Today replacement while she took time off amid the investigation into her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.
- Kotb skipped out on the NBC morning show for the last two weeks, as Savannah returned on Monday, April 6.
It’s only been two weeks since Today fans last saw Hoda Kotb on the NBC morning show, and she’s already set her return date.
Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin kicked off the show’s Thursday, April 9, episode with some exciting news. “Speaking of tomorrow, Craig, you are heading off on a very well-deserved vacation. You’ve been holding it down here for a long time,” Guthrie told Melvin. “So, you’re gonna have a spring break.”
Guthrie went on to share, “And Monday, we’re gonna try a new host here. Her name is Hoda [Kotb], and she’s gonna fill in for you next week. So, that will be fun.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of her!” Melvin joked before stating, “That will be fun. I won’t see you. I won’t turn on the TV, but it’ll be fun.” Guthrie replied, “Yeah, don’t. You’re not supposed to watch on your vacation.” (Guthrie did not share who will fill in for Melvin on Friday, April 10.)
Kotb previously served as Guthrie’s co-anchor on the NBC morning show, taking over for Matt Lauer in 2018 following his 2017 sexual misconduct scandal and firing. She left her longtime role on the show in January 2025, but has continued to make appearances to promote her latest projects.
In February, Kotb returned to her former role after Savannah traveled to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, to be with her family amid the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. Nancy was last seen at her home on January 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities have yet to name any leads as the investigation continues. Savannah and her family have been cleared as suspects, as well as offered a reward of up to $1 million in exchange for information about Nancy’s whereabouts.
NBC
Savannah paid a visit to Today‘s Studio 1A in March before sitting down with Kotb for an exclusive Today interview. During the second half of the interview, aired on March 27, Savannah admitted it was “hard” to imagine returning to the show while her mother remains missing.
“I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now,” she told Kotb. “I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer, and being there is joyful. And when it’s not, I’ll say so.”
Addressing the investigation, Savannah added, “Someone knows something, even if that something is someone’s been acting strange for the last seven, eight weeks. Even if it’s just that, somebody knows, and maybe somebody’s afraid, and I understand that. But our hearts are in agony. We can’t breathe. We can’t live. We can’t go on. We can’t be at peace. We can’t go forward. We have to know what happened to her.”
Kotb skipped out on last week’s Today episodes, while Weekend Today‘s Laura Jarrett sat alongside Melvin at the anchor desk. Savannah made her highly anticipated Today return on Monday, April 6. “It is good to be home,” she said at the top of the episode.
Savannah later got teary-eyed while greeting fans out on the 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “These signs are so beautiful. You guys have been so beautiful,” she gushed. “I received so many letters, so much kindness, to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers, so thank you so much.”
Today, Weekdays, 7am, NBC
