NBC’s ‘Today’ Features All-Women Lineup Amid Multiple Host Absences

The Tuesday, July 28, episode of Today marked a rare occurrence for the NBC morning show: an all-female hosting lineup.

Sheinelle Jones and NBC News’ Hallie Jackson once again sat at the anchor desk on Tuesday, filling in for Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin. “​​Welcome back to Today. So glad you’re with us on this Tuesday morning. Hallie and I are covering for Savannah, who remains on assignment for NBC, and Craig will be back here tomorrow,” Jones shared at the top of the show’s 8 a.m. ET hour. “In the meantime, we’re enjoying all of these folks who are squeezing out the last bits of summer. I guess it’s not the last bits. We still have a full month.”

Jackson noted that there’s “plenty” of summer left before sharing her appreciation for her Today guest-hosting gig. “Coming and seeing the crowd on the plaza has been so fun, and the girls’ trips and the anniversaries and the birthdays, it’s just such a blast,” she gushed. Jones, for her part, called meeting fans one of her “favorite parts of the morning.”

Jenna Bush Hager was present in Studio 1A on Tuesday, while other regular hosts enjoyed the day off. NBC News’ Kaylee Hartung stepped in for Carson Daly, while Weekend Today‘s Angie Lassman handled weather reporting duties for Al Roker. (Dylan Dreyer was also absent from Tuesday’s episode).

As a result of the absences, Today was led by an all-women cast. Tuesday’s episode of the third hour of Today also featured some hosting shakeups. Hartung sat at the hosting desk alongside NBC News’ Savannah Sellers and Sam Brock.

Jenna Bush Hager, Sheinelle Jones, Hallie Jackson, Kaylee Hartung, and Angie Lassman on ‘Today’ (NBC).

“Don’t adjust your screens,” Sellers quipped at the top of the episode. “This is the third hour of Today, but you may have noticed Al, Craig, and Dylan are all off today. We’re holding down the desk, though.”

Many members of the main Today cast are off for various reasons. Melvin and Dreyer have both been enjoying summer breaks with their families, while Daly has been off filming new episodes of NBC’s The Voice. Guthrie has also been working on a new NBC production, as she is currently filming the network’s Wordle game show.

Roker, meanwhile, kicked off the week on Today. However, he hinted at an upcoming break from the show while announcing his new video series about the Universal Studios theme parks, Universal Today, on Monday, July 27.

“We have some great insider tips. We find out how they built a lot of the rides. We’re gonna update Universal Today for new attractions and experiences,” he shared during the show’s “PopStart” segment. “In fact, I’m getting ready to head down there to eat more, and we’re gonna do a whole takeout on the Halloween Horror Nights.”

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On Monday, Savannah took a break from filming Wordle to share a new Instagram video plea to the captors of her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie. Nancy has been missing from her Arizona home since February, and authorities have yet to name any suspects amid the ongoing investigation.

“I’m coming on today with a very specific message. It has been months since our mom was taken from us. Our family is in agony,” she said into the camera. “We are in a nightmare that will not end. Nothing about our situation has changed. We have done our part, but we will never stop looking for her. We will always ache for her and feel that hole in our hearts.”

Savannah continued, “The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place, and I know that you have tried to do things the right way. So I’m asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her. I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing. Help us bring this situation to an end for all of us, no matter where we’ve been and what we’ve done. I believe there is always a way home. Please make the right choice.”

Today, Weekdays, 7 am/6c, NBC