NBC’s ‘Dateline’: Lester Holt Reveals Big Change Coming to Season 35

Dateline is coming back with new episodes and a big change for Season 35.

Longtime anchor Lester Holt teased what fans can expect from the NBC series’ upcoming season in an interview with People published on Monday, August 31. One thing Holt told the outlet he’s “personally excited” for in Season 35 is that the episodes will be longer.

“I think we’re going to be seeing more two-hour Datelines, which we know the audience really likes,” he teased. “And so we’re going to be pretty busy. We’ll acknowledge 35, but then we got to put our metals to the grindstone and then crank out some more broadcasts. But we’re excited about next season.”

Holt has appeared on Dateline since 2005 and became the show’s principal anchor in 2011. He took on his role as lead anchor on NBC Nightly News in 2015 and held the position for a decade before stepping down from the evening news broadcast last year, after which Tom Llamas took over.

Holt stepped down from NBC Nightly News in part to focus more on Dateline. “I think sometimes people forget that that’s one of the main components of what we do is not just standing in front of the camera, but it’s the writing. It’s how you tell the story,” he said of working on the show. “I’ve always believed, and I think a lot of people agree, that the Dateline producers and correspondents are really the best storytellers out there.”

Miller Mobley/NBC

He continued, “The ability to take these complicated stories with incredible twists and tell them in a way that creates this narrative that people have a hard time walking away from. You hear these stories and you want to know more and more and more.”

Related

12 TV Anchors Who Signed Off With Iconic Catchphrases

In addition to anchoring Dateline, Holt is also launching a new podcast, titled Before & After with Lester Holt, on Monday, September 14. The podcast will feature interviews between Holt and guests such as Colin Kaepernick and Jeremy Renner about the moments that changed their lives in an instant.

“As a reporter, I’ve seen many people who, in the worst of circumstances, still manage to put one foot in front of the other and keep going, and they figure their way,” he said of the podcast. “So we thought, what a great idea for a podcast. We can talk to people who have been in circumstances like that and learn about not only what divided their life, but how they dealt with that.”

When it comes to dealing with the heavy subject matter of Dateline and his podcast, Holt says he turns to music for comfort. “I’m a musician, but I also enjoy music. It sounds trite, I know, but I really find it as a grounding experience,” Holt, who plays the bass guitar and upright bass, explained. “And I like to get close to a lot of the people we cover in the stories. Make sure they understand that their stories are valued by us, that we bring respect to the table.”

The host went on to add, “When you see Dateline on your front doorstep, it may not be the best day of your life. It may be telling a difficult story and a difficult passage in your life. And so I kind of take strength in reminding people that we’re going to honor their story or their loved one’s story, if that’s the case. And it helps center me, certainly.”

Dateline, Season 35 Premiere, Friday, September 25, 9/8c, NBC