Who Will Replace Hoda Kotb on ‘Today With Jenna & Friends’? She Weighs In on Her Favorite Choices

Alyssa Norwin June 6, 2025, 11:54 am

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Today - Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager — TODAY -- Pictured: Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Monday, December 2, 2019 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

It’s been nearly five months since Hoda Kotb‘s last time hosting the Today show, and a permanent replacement still hasn’t been named to take her spot in the show’s fourth hour. While Craig Melvin now sits alongside Savannah Guthrie to host the main show, Jenna Bush Hager still has rotating celebrity guest hosts fill Kotb’s position on Today With Jenna & Friends.

“Anybody would be so lucky,” Kotb said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “But to me, the contenders are Savannah. I think she would be great. I think Justin Sylvester is amazing.”

She also applauded Scarlett Johansson as a fill-in host, but admitted that the actress likely wouldn’t step in permanently. “Scarlett Johansson crushed it,” Kotb confirmed. “She said it was her favorite job.”

Of other possible replacements, she continued, “And Matt Rogers is great. And also our dear friend Sheinelle Jones, who is going through a horrible time, but I think she would be good. I feel like it’s whoever clicks great with Jenna.” Jones’ husband, Uche Ojeh, died in May from brain cancer.

Hoda Kotb Shares What She Misses About Working at ‘Today’

A timeline for when Hager’s new cohost will be announced has not been confirmed, but she previously said that it’s a process she’s not rushing. “Chill out. I feel like our audience deserves the time to get to know a ton of different people, a ton of different backgrounds,” Hager told Variety in a January interview. “We’re hoping to pull up the chairs to all different types of people. I think there will be some surprises for sure. And so, it’s like, when we know, I think we’ll know.”

Since leaving Today, Kotb has been spending her time focused on her two young daughters, while also building her new wellness brand, Joy 101, which will include an app and website. The app officially launches on June 11.