Veteran NBC host Craig Melvin has been tapped to replace Hoda Kotb on the Today Show.
According to NBC, Melvin is set to step into his role as co-host of the show alongside Savanna Guthrie starting January 10.
“Craig Melvin is the new anchor of the ‘Today’’ Show!” Guthrie cheered, calling it “one of the most popular decisions NBC News has ever made.”
Kotb expressed her excitement to her successor, saying:
“You are made for this job…You are literally made for this job. You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.”
For his part, an “excited and grateful” Melvin said it meant “a lot to inherit” the role from Kotb, who’s been with the network since 1998.
“It means a lot to inherit this from you. You helped save the show and to be able to sit next to someone who I knew was smart for years and all of a sudden you start working with her and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, she’s funny too!” Melvin, who will continue to co-host the third hour of the show with Dreyer, Jones and Roker said of Kotb.
“This is the latest in a long line of blessings,” he added. “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.”
The announcement comes almost two months after Kotb revealed her departure after nearly three decades at NBC.
“As I write this, my heart is all over the map,” the journalist shared in a letter to NBC morning staff Thursday (September 26).
“I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
Sharing her decision, Kotb explained in part, “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.”
