The âTODAYâ show reportedly isnât ready to see Hoda Kotb go after she filled in for colleague Savannah Guthrie during the investigation into her mom Nancy Guthrieâs kidnapping.
Although Kotb left her mainstay at âTODAYâ in January 2025, the New York Post reported that the NBC morning show is finding a way to keep Kotb around for on-air coverage.Â
Fortunately, with Craig Melvin stepping away for the week, Kotb has rejoined “TODAY” as co-anchor in place of Melvin, starting Monday, April 13.
Why Keeping Hoda Kotb on the âTODAYâ Show âMakes Senseâ
A source told the NYP that welcoming Kotb back after a brief break following her two-month stand-in for Guthrie was a âno-brainerâ given that Kotb and Guthrie share an âunbreakable bond.âÂ
âItâs Savannahâs second week back, and Hoda is a safe space for her,â the source added. âTheyâve been through a lot together and have a meaningful connection. Thatâs important to a morning show audience.â
According to the NYP, sources described Kotb as a âsteady hand and calm presence for the staff,â adding how âin this circumstance, it just makes senseâ to keep her around not only as a comforting presence for Guthrie but also because America has taken a likening to her return.
While anchoring together on April 13 for the first time in one year, Kotb sweetly told her colleague and friend, âIâm so happy sitting next to you in this chair again.â Guthrie agreed, telling Kotb, âYeah, itâs good. Itâs just like the old times,” according to Page Six.
Although NBC is working on weaving Kotb in where they can, the co-anchor has not yet confirmed if she will be back full-time.
Savannah Guthrie Afflicted by âTODAYâ Return
Before Guthrie made her anticipated âTODAYâ return on April 6, Kotb filmed the first sit-down interview with her since her mom, Nancy, was kidnapped from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early morning hours of February 1.
Speaking on her decision to come back as co-anchor despite her mom remaining missing, Guthrie told Kotb that the joy of being on air again might be too much to bear in light of her internal affliction.
âIt’s hard to imagine doing it because itâs such a place of joy and lightness, and I canât come back and try to be something that Iâm not,â Guthrie said, TODAY reported. âI donât know if I can do it. I donât know if Iâll belong anymore, but I would like to try. I would like to try.â
Although Guthrie has braved the public eye while back on NBCâs âTODAYâ show, sheâs still living with the pain of not knowing where her mom is located, if sheâs alive, or if she is dead.
When speaking with Kotb during their interview, Guthrie said that the thought of her momâs abduction relentlessly wakes her out of her sleep. âI wake up every night in the middle of the night,â Guthrie shared. âAnd in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought.â
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