Craig Melvin Announced as Hoda Kotb's Replacement onToday, Will Co-Anchor with Savannah Guthrie

Mar. 15, 2025

Craig Melvinwill co-anchor theTodayshow alongsideSavannah Guthriefollowing news ofHoda Kotb’s departure.Nearly two months after Kotb announced that she wasstepping away from her anchoring duties after 17 yearsto focus onher kids, NBC named Melvin, 45, her permanent replacement on Thursday, Nov. 14.Melvin — who currently hosts the third hour ofTodayalongsideAl Roker,Sheinelle JonesandDylan Dreyer— will host three hours in a row starting on Monday, Jan. 13, following Kotb’s last day on the show, Friday, Jan. 10.The two-time Emmy Award winner and South Carolina nativebegan working onTodayin 2018when he was promoted to a weekday news anchor, after working on MSNBC and NBC News. Melvin married sports broadcasterLindsay Czarniakin 2011, and they share two children, sonDelanoand daughterSybil.Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin in a March 2020 episode of ‘Today’.Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty"Craig is a super talented anchor. He’s very well-rounded. He has all the things you want to fill this role. Hoda has two really big jobs and they’re taking it one step at a time, figuring it all out," a source tells PEOPLE.The fourth hour ofToday, which Kotb currently co-hosts alongsideJenna Bush Hager, will feature a rotating panel of guest co-hosts.Craig Melvin.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty"It will beToday with Jenna and Friendsuntil a new host is named," the source tells PEOPLE, noting that it will also feature “fun surprises.““It’ll be a full-bodied rotation of people. Some expected, some who are in the family already and some unexpected. They don’t know where it’s going to land,” says the source.Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager in a October 2021 episode of ‘Today with Hoda & Jenna’.Alliance for Women in Media Foundation/Getty ImagesIn aletter to staff, Kotb announced her departure from theTodayshow, saying it was “the right decision, but it’s a painful one.““My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited,” she said, noting that she will still be a part of the network in some capacity.“Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart. I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine,” she wrote.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Todayairs weekday mornings on NBC (check local listings).

Craig Melvinwill co-anchor theTodayshow alongsideSavannah Guthriefollowing news ofHoda Kotb’s departure.

Nearly two months after Kotb announced that she wasstepping away from her anchoring duties after 17 yearsto focus onher kids, NBC named Melvin, 45, her permanent replacement on Thursday, Nov. 14.

Melvin — who currently hosts the third hour ofTodayalongsideAl Roker,Sheinelle JonesandDylan Dreyer— will host three hours in a row starting on Monday, Jan. 13, following Kotb’s last day on the show, Friday, Jan. 10.

The two-time Emmy Award winner and South Carolina nativebegan working onTodayin 2018when he was promoted to a weekday news anchor, after working on MSNBC and NBC News. Melvin married sports broadcasterLindsay Czarniakin 2011, and they share two children, sonDelanoand daughterSybil.

Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin in a March 2020 episode of ‘Today’.Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

“Craig is a super talented anchor. He’s very well-rounded. He has all the things you want to fill this role. Hoda has two really big jobs and they’re taking it one step at a time, figuring it all out,” a source tells PEOPLE.

The fourth hour ofToday, which Kotb currently co-hosts alongsideJenna Bush Hager, will feature a rotating panel of guest co-hosts.

Craig Melvin.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

“It will beToday with Jenna and Friendsuntil a new host is named,” the source tells PEOPLE, noting that it will also feature “fun surprises.”

“It’ll be a full-bodied rotation of people. Some expected, some who are in the family already and some unexpected. They don’t know where it’s going to land,” says the source.

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager in a October 2021 episode of ‘Today with Hoda & Jenna’.Alliance for Women in Media Foundation/Getty Images

Alliance for Women in Media Foundation/Getty Images

In aletter to staff, Kotb announced her departure from theTodayshow, saying it was “the right decision, but it’s a painful one.”

“My broadcast career has been beyond meaningful, a new decade of my life lies ahead, and now my daughters and my mom need and deserve a bigger slice of my time pie. I will miss you all desperately, but I’m ready and excited,” she said, noting that she will still be a part of the network in some capacity.

“Happily and gratefully, I plan to remain a part of the NBC family, the longest work relationship I’ve been lucky enough to hold close to my heart. I’ll be around. How could I not? Family is family and you all will always be a part of mine,” she wrote.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Todayairs weekday mornings on NBC (check local listings).

source: people.com