Savannah Guthrie Returns to Visit ‘Today’

Savannah Guthrie returned to NBC’s “Today” on Thursday — but not on camera.

The co-host visited with colleagues in her first appearance at NBC since her mother, Nancy, was abducted January 31. The case remains open and authorities have not publicly identified a person of interest.

“Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her ‘Today’ colleagues,” NBC News said in a statement. “While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home.”

Anchors at the long-running A.M. franchise have grappled with many challenges over the years, ranging from personal health issues to talent transitions, but these past months have presented a set of circumstances that are believed to be without parallel: An agonizing search for Nancy Guthrie around her home in Arizona has been in process for weeks, leaving producers not only to manage coverage thoughtfully, but also to ponder how to fill Savannah Guthrie’s seat for an undefined interim.

How has “Today” handled the matter? Hoda Kotb, the veteran “Today” co-anchor who left full-time duties early last year, has rejoined the show on an interim basis, and is holding forth with Craig Melvin. Kotb will stay while Guthrie is with her family, according to a person familiar with the matter. Guthrie is expected to return to the show on her own timeline, even if she requires a significant period to feel ready to do so, this person says. On some days, Sheinelle Jones has co-anchored alongside Melvin.

Having Kotb on hand offers a viable solution for NBC and “Today” producers. She’s already affiliated with the show, and adding someone new to the mix during such a difficult moment could be ill advised The introduction of someone less known to viewers to fill in more regularly for Guthrie — even on an interim basis — could alienate the audience, which has a years-long relationship with her and doesn’t want to see her treated poorly, particularly under duress. The first two hours of “Today” generated nearly $203.5 million in 2025, according to Guideline, a tracker of ad spending.

Audiences continue to watch the show in larger numbers — even after NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics has wound down. For the five days ended February 27, “Today” captured an average of 3.32 million viewers overall and 638,000 among viewers between 25 and 54, the audience coveted most by advertisers in news programming. The overall audience for “Today” was up 19% over the year-earlier period, while viewership in the demo fell 6% — a potential warning sign, as the same group rose 13% at rival ABC’s “Good Morning America.”