TODAY SHOW
AS MEGYN KELLY EXITX NBC, THE FLAGSHIP MORNING SHOW PLANS TO MOVE AHEAD WITH FAMILIAR HOSTS
Following Megyn Kelly’s departure, the morning show plans a new third hour with familiar faces.
Who needs soap operas when Today has so much daytime drama? Just a year after NBC fired Matt Lauer for sexual misconduct allegations, the network’s newest host, Megyn Kelly, who anchored the show’s 9 a.m. hour, made an unceremonious exit following her controversial comments about wearing blackface on Halloween. Will Hoda Kotb ride to the rescue again?
Maybe. “We are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show as it evolves,” Hoda said on Oct. 29, as she and Al Roker filled in. But rather than signing another big-name host, the new show “is going to look a lot like the first two hours,” at least for now, sources tell Closer. So expect to see Savannah Guthrie, Hoda and Al back behind the anchor desk on the third hour. (Craig Melvin and Jenna Bush Hager are also expected to appear.)
Megyn left Fox News Channel for NBC in January 2017 with a reported $69 million contract. While she negotiates in an attempt to get what she’s owed on her contract, the morning show’s producers are forging ahead and restyling the studio that was built for Megyn Kelly Today.
“Eventually NBC is hoping to settle on a permanent single host, duo or team,” the insider says. That may include Al, who had been co-hosting the hour before Megyn’s arrival. “He’s more than anxious to be coanchoring the show again,” the insider notes.
Hoda still co-hosts the fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. If she’s called on to again steady the ship, “instead of feeling stretched thin, she’s raring to go,” says the insider. “She’d host all four hours if she could.”
In fact, despite the turmoil, the insider tells Closer, “The executives, staff and talent look at the new changes as the next step toward a brighter, better Today.” — Lisa Chambers
“The family Today will continue to bring you important stories.” — Hoda Kotb