Craig Melvin Announced As NBC’s ‘Today’ Co-Host, Replacing Hoda Kotb

NBC has named Craig Melvin as the replacement for Hoda Kotb as co-host of the network’s iconic Today show, elevating a well-known and liked member of the show’s on-air family to sit alongside Savannah Guthrie. In September, Kotb announced she would be leaving the morning show in early 2025.

Guthrie announced the news to viewers, describing Melvin as “talented, wonderful, hard-working, most worthy,” before hugging him as the on-air team gave him a round of applause—the same reaction the show’s production team had, Guthrie said, when they learned the news earlier Thursday morning. “This is one of the most popular decisions NBC News has ever made.”

“I am beyond excited and grateful,” Melvin said, thanking “NBC and the folks here who deemed me worthy.” He said he had “enjoyed a lifetime of blessings, and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”

Melvin talked about his family, many of whom had to work more than one job—including a grandmother who supported her family “running numbers and liquor” who went to prison, where Melvin’s father was born. “That didn’t define him, he overcame addictions in his life and he’s become one of my favorite human beings.”

“We are beyond thrilled to have Craig step into the co-anchor chair,” said Libby Leist, senior vice president of Today, in a statement sent to staff Thursday morning. “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. And he does it without ever losing that Southern charm.”

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Melvin will ascend to the anchor chair as the Today brand has expanded hugely beyond its decades-old roots in broadcast television. The show’s producers describe it as a lifestyle brand with podcasts, special programs and events, digital, streaming and e-commerce.

As Kotb told me last year, “I feel like we get the best of all of it,” said Kotb. “If you’d like things to slow down, we’ve got you covered, man. We’ve got you totally covered. If you only have five minutes because you’re in a rush, you’ll get what you need.”

Melvin, an NBC News veteran of almost 14 years, will take the anchor chair on January 13, the Monday following Kotb’s final appearance as co-host of Today on Friday, January 10. Melvin currently hosts the third hour of Today, and previously served as the show’s weekend co-host. He will continue in his role in the 3rd hour alongside Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.

Kotb will stay with NBC, but decided earlier this year that she was ready to step back from the demands of anchoring a television fixture like Today. “I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said in an emotional message to viewers back in September.

“I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”

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At the time, Melvin said of Kotb, “you’ve been the heart of this show for a long time, and there’s no replacing that.”

“People in this business, when that little red light, it goes off, they’re different people,” he said. “We’ve worked with all these people before. You’re the opposite. That little red light goes off, you are exactly like people see you in the morning — just the biggest heart.”

On Thursday, NBC also announced changes to Today with Hoda & Jenna, the fourth hour of the network’s highly-rated morning lineup. Beginning January 13, the show will be called Today with Jenna & Friends, featuring a rotating group of co-hosts alongside Jenna Bush Hager, who has hosted the show with Kotb since 2019.

NBC expects to name a permanent co-host in the next few months.