Hoda Kotb, the co-host of NBC’s “Today,” announced her departure on Friday, capping a nearly two-decade stint with the morning show.
As part of her farewell, the programme aired a retrospective of her tenure on “Today,” featuring memories from her co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, Al Roker, and Carson Daly. Kotb, holding back tears, said, “Can I just thank you? I’ve been unable to describe it since I’m usually a mess.”
She praised everyone, referring to Guthrie as “her person,” Roker as “my first friend” at the show, and Daly as the show’s “secret sauce.” Kotb informed Melvin that he had won his new co-anchor job and joked that she would be “dead asleep” on Monday when he begins.
“Today” surprised her with some of her favourite personalities like Maria Shriver and Simone Biles, who stated she will see Kotb at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Kotb’s children joined her, as did Kermit the Frog, who claimed Kotb’s grin was his favourite thing about her.
Since 2018, Kotb and Guthrie have co-hosted the programme, succeeding Matt Lauer, who was ousted due to sexual misconduct allegations.
Before her promotion, she officially joined “Today” in 2007 to co-host the fourth hour. A year later, Kathie Lee Gifford appeared, catapulting the show into the pop cultural pantheon with their booze-induced shenanigans.
Since joining NBC in 1998 as a journalist for “Dateline,” she has become one of the network’s most recognisable faces. Her kind and gentle nature has appealed to fans, who go to 30 Rockefeller Centre in New York daily to see her.
That was clear on her final day when the throng outside the “Today” studios was packed with die-hard Kotb fans celebrating the “Hoda-bration” and brandishing placards professing their love for her. Kotb joked that she intended to “save every single sign.”
Kotb, 60, startled admirers by announcing her resignation in September, citing it as the “hardest decision of her life.” She wants to spend more time with her two young daughters.
In addition to anchoring the first two hours, she shared hosting duties with Jenna Bush Hager for the fourth. That will be renamed next week as “Jenna & Friends,” with guest co-hosts including Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria, and Scarlett Johansson until a permanent co-host is selected.
Melvin will take over for Kotb, as previously stated by NBC. He begins his new role as co-anchor with Guthrie on Monday and will continue to co-host the third hour.
Kotb’s departure is one of the most significant changes to the morning television scene in at least a decade. Even as the broadcast industry diminishes, shows like “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” are extremely successful and cultural icons for their respective corporations.
