Savannah Guthrie made her much-awaited return to The Today Show this past week, and the occasion was met with much fanfare. Of course, Guthrie was returning from a leave of absence taken due to the disappearance of her mother, Nancy. In Savannah’s absence, former co-anchor Hoda Kotb filled in for her and was “happy” to do it. Kotb, however, wasn’t working at the studio when Guthrie made her return to the airwaves. Yet Kotb will be back this coming week, and that’s due to another colleague, Craig Melvin.
It was announced during the April 9th edition of Today that co-anchor Craig Melvin would be heading on vacation. From there, Guthrie quipped that the show would try out another host in the form of Kotb. That was followed by a joke from Melvin, who said he'd heard of Kotb before. In all seriousness, though, both Melvin and Guthrie seemed to be ecstatic about the prospect of Kotb returning to the show once more. And, quite frankly, I also love the fact that Kotb will be back on our screens soon.
At this point, it’s become something of a novelty to see Hoda Kotb on Today, given that she stepped down from her post back in 2025. Kotb attributed her decision to step down to a desire to spend more time with her two daughters. Aside from that, the media personality also wanted to dip her toes into different kinds of ventures. It’d be an understatement to say, however, that Kotb’s recent return to the aforementioned NBC morning show has been bittersweet due to her filling in for Guthrie during a family tragedy.
While Hoda Kotb’s return has seemingly been welcomed by viewers and more, there have been rumors regarding supposed ramifications it could have on Craig Melvin’s position at the show. Melvin replaced Kotb as co-anchor, and she wished him well on his first day last year. However, as of late, it’s been alleged that Melvin’s job security could be on shaky footing with Kotb’s recent return.
That mass speculation apparently went up after Kotb’s tearful interview with Guthrie, during which the latter talked about the experience of navigating her mother’s disappearance. It was alleged that Melvin was unhappy with not being chosen to give that interview and that he felt “he earned that spot.” Of course, all of this should be taken with a massive grain of salt, as a representative for NBC even claimed Melvin knew Kotb would be talking to Guthrie and that he was supportive of that decision.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that this has been an eventful few months for the Peacock network’s flagship morning show. According to reports, Savannah Guthrie’s return, alone, prompted a lot of behind-the-scenes preparations. It was even said that Craig Melvin and co. were ordered not to mention Nancy Guthrie during Savannah’s first day back as to create a sense of normalcy. Still, as media experts have asserted, it’s going to take some time for Guthrie to readjust to the flow of her work, which could include updates on her mom.
More immediately, though, it’s just great to know that when Hoda Kotb returns to The Today Show this time around, it won’t be for tragic reasons. Fans can watch Kotb back on the air starting on Monday, April 13 as part of the ongoing 2026 TV schedule.
