WASHINGTON — TODAY marks Hoda Kotb’s last day at work on NBC’s popular morning show.
One of the longtime co-hosts of NBC’s “Today” show is celebrating her last day on the set with a collection of featured guests and well-wishers as part of the “Hoda-bration.”
Why is Hoda Kotb leaving ‘Today’?
Kotb has been with the show for more than 17 years, and has become a part of American cultural life alongside main co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. She announced her decision to depart from the show in August 2024, and has spent the past five months in a sort of transitional period.
“I just turned 60 and it was such a monumental moment for me, when I turned 60 years old, because I started thinking about that decade – like what does that decade mean, what does it hold, what’s it going to have for me – and I realize that it was time for me to turn the page at 60 and to try something new,” Kotb shared on-air with her co-anchors and viewers.
“This is the right time for me to move on,” she added, while tearing up.
Who is replacing Hoda Kotb?
Craig Melvin will be replacing Kotb as the co-anchor of “Today” alongside Guthrie, starting on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.
Melvin will also remain as a co-host of the 3rd hour of “Today” alongside Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.
The fourth hour of the morning show will move ahead as “Today Jenna & Friends,” featuring guest co-hosts alongside Jenna Bush Hager until a permanent co-host is named.
Who is helping with the Hoda Kotb send-off?
Among the guests sending her off on Friday were Simone Biles and Kermit The Frog.
Biles teased it wouldn’t be the last she sees Kotb, who frequently interviewed her about the pressures and triumphs as the world’s greatest gymnast. In her send-off, Biles seemed to hint at a 2028 Olympics reunion.
“Hopefully we’ll be in LA together,” Biles told Kotb. “Whatever that may mean for the both of us.”
And the world’s most famous frog took a chance to serenade Kotb, along with her daughters, 7-year-old Haley and 5-year-old Hope. Kermit the Frog, the leader of the Muppets, sang “Rainbow Connection” to the family, the song that Kotb says she sings to her daughters every night.
While listening to the song, Hoda held her daughters and wiped her eyes.
“Oh my God,” she mouthed as her co-anchors joined in the singing.
The “Hoda-bration” will keep going during the fourth hour of “Today,” featuring a live studio audience and even more special guests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.