By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --NBC News opened the new year Tuesday by appointing Hoda Kotb as co-anchor of the "Today" show's first two hours with Savannah Guthrie, replacing Matt Lauer following his firing on sexual misconduct charges in late November.
Kotb, 53, will continue to co-host the show's fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford.
It will be the first all-female team headlining "Today" in the show's 65-year history. Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts blazed that path for ABC's "Good Morning America" in the 2000s, but morning shows have traditionally paired a man and a woman as host. With an audience dominated by women in an era where news of badly behaving men is frequent, the Guthrie-Kotb pairing may be particularly timely.
"Today" won't be an all-female zone in its first half, however, with longtime weather forecaster Al Roker and correspondent Carson Daly as regulars. Megyn Kelly hosts the show's third hour.
Lauer's eventual replacement had long been the subject of internal angst but with a sudden decision forced upon the network, Kotb's performance made it easier. She's subbed for Lauer since the day he was fired and "Today" has won four straight weeks in the ratings, after having spent much of the past few years in second behind ABC.
"Hoda has seamlessly stepped into the co-anchor role alongside Savannah, and the two have quickly hit the ground running," NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said in a memo to staff on Tuesday. "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of 'Today.'"
Lack said Kotb "has the rare ability to share authentic and heartfelt moments in even the most difficult news circumstances. It's a tribute to her wide range and her innate curiosity."
It's common for television shows with job openings to hold informal tryouts of potential hosts. With Kotb's immediate success, potential replacements like Willie Geist or Craig Melvin didn't get that chance.
Lauer had been a fixture at "Today" since the mid-1990s before his abrupt firing for what NBC called "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a colleague. Other complaints and reports of crude behavior followed.
He was the second television morning host fired in a week, after CBS News axed Charlie Rose just before Thanksgiving on sexual misconduct charges. Rose was one of three "CBS This Morning" hosts with Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell, and CBS has yet to name his replacement.
Kotb joined NBC News in 1998 as a "Dateline NBC" correspondent, after working in local news in New Orleans. Her public profile increased with her wine-soaked pairing with Gifford on the show's informal fourth hour.
She was born in Norman, Oklahoma, to parents of Egyptian descent, and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More