BREAKING NEWSHoda Kotb's Replacement Revealed: Who Is Taking Over Her 'Today' Show Duties When She Retires From Gig in January?
Hoda Kotb's 'Today' show replacement has been revealed.
Hoda Kotb is leaving her Today show role in good hands.
NBC News anchor Craig Melvin revealed on Thursday, November 14, that he would be replacing Kotb on the morning talk show upon her exit in January.
Hoda Kotb announced in September that she was leaving 'Today' at the beginning of the new year.
"CM is the new anchor of the Today show! One of the most popular decisions NBC News has ever made," fellow journalist Savannah Guthrie, 52 — who has been a co-host on Today since 2012 — exclaimed during Thursday's broadcast.
Kotb chimed in to praise her replacement, stating: "You were made for this job. … You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it."
Craig Melvin has been at NBC News for almost 14 years.
Meanwhile, Al Roker, 70, admittedly didn't "have the words" for Melvin at this time, but was "so happy" for his friend and colleague.
Melvin also said a few words about how he was "excited and grateful" for the opportunity, noting it meant "a lot to inherit" the position from Kotb — who he referred to as "the heart of" the show.
Hoda Kotb said Craig Melvin was 'made for this job.'
- Savannah Guthrie Admits How 'Sad' She Is About Hoda Kotb's Exit From 'Today': 'If I Had My Way, We'd Be Together Forever'
- Hoda Kotb’s Lengthy Absence From 'Today' Show Revealed After Fans Demand Answers
- Hoda Kotb's 'Today' Costars 'Shocked' at Her Decision to Leave, Most Didn't Know Until 'a Couple of Days' Before Her Announcement: Insider
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
"This is the latest in a long line of blessings," Melvin, 45, gushed. "I talked to Mom and Dad yesterday, and I’m thankful they’re still young enough and healthy enough to be able to see this."
To celebrate, all of the anchors did shots of bourbon — Melvin's favorite — in the studio together.
"We are beyond thrilled to have Craig step into the co-anchor chair," Libby Leist, senior vice president of Today, informed staffers in a statement about Melvin — who will be joining Guthrie for the 7 and 8 a.m. hours of the show. "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," the message continued. "And he does it without ever losing that Southern charm."
Hoda Kotb's last day on 'Today' will take place on Friday, January 10.
Melvin will continue co-hosting the third hour of Today with Roker, Dylan Dreyer, 43, and Sheinelle Jones, 46.
Today With Hoda and Jenna, which holds the show's fourth hour and has been co-hosted by Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, 42, since April 2019, will debut as Today with Jenna & Friends on Monday, January 13, until the network names a permanent replacement for the role.
Kotb's last day is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 10. The reveal of her replacement comes roughly two months after the famed television personality, 60, shockingly announced she was leaving the show in September.
"I decided this is the right time for me to kind of move on," she told viewers at the time. "And so with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world."
"I'm not gonna be here past the first of the year," Kotb confessed before clarifying: "I’m gonna stay in the NBC family, but it’s kind of a big deal for me."
