Savannah Guthrie Says She Was 'the Last to Know' She Was Replacing Ann Curry onTodayShow

Mar. 15, 2025

Savannah Guthrie.Photo:Nathan Congleton/NBC

Nathan Congleton/NBC

Savannah Guthrieknows what it’s like to fill someone else’s shoes on theTodayshow.

This week marked the start of a new era of the weekday news program. Guthrie, 53, is now co-anchoring the show alongsideCraig Melvin, who took over as full-time co-anchor of the NBC show’s first and second hours beginning on Jan. 13.

The new lineup comes afterHoda Kotbstepped down from her co-hosting seat after a 17-year run. She concluded her long tenure on the show during anemotional final farewell episodeon Jan. 10.

Much like Melvin, 45, Guthrie stepped into the co-anchor role after a fellow colleague’s departure — although her circumstances were quite different.

Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin on ‘Today’ in November 2024.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Guthrie famously was offered the job in 2012 following theabrupt departure of Ann Curry. In a new interview withParade, Guthrie reflected on the promotion and how it was very unexpected.

“I came at a time of a lot of controversy for the show, and it wasn’t, I don’t think, a happy occasion, really — for anyone, including me,” she told the outlet.

“I was as terrified as I could possibly be because the bosses at the time had made a decision, and I quite literally was the last to know, and I was so afraid, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t last,” she continued.

At the time, Guthrie had alreadyjoinedTodayas the anchor of the 9 a.m. hourafter working as a White House correspondent and chief legal analyst for NBC News in 2011. It was a role she was content with, she said.

“All my dreams had already come true,” Guthrie told Parade. “It didn’t need to get any better than that.”

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Savannah Guthrie (left) and Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’ in December 2024.Nathan Congleton/NBC

Guthrie is now entering her 14th year with theTodayshow, and she worked alongside Kotb during that entire period. When it came time for her longtime colleague — and close friend — to finally sign off the air for the final time on Jan. 10, it was an emotional moment.

Guthrie went on to gush about Kotb and describe her as “the ultimate people person” and someone who is “like a sister to me,” adding, “She’s so special, it’s almost beyond description.”

source: people.com