Savannah Guthrie might not return to her role on the TODAY show following the deeply distressing abduction of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, according to a new report.
The NBC morning anchor has been away from the program since Nancy vanished on Feb. 1. Several longtime television insiders told Status News they are skeptical that Guthrie will ever resume her on-air duties.
One industry source told the outlet there’s little chance she’ll come back, adding that they could not imagine her wanting to resume the job under the circumstances.
As Guthrie focuses on her family and the ongoing crisis, a television executive interviewed by Status News warned that her permanent absence would leave a major void at TODAY. The source described Guthrie as the person who held the show together and said losing her would undermine the familial dynamic that the morning team projects, likening it to removing the connective tissue from the group.
Stepping in for Guthrie is Hoda Kotb, her former co-anchor. Kotb, who first joined TODAY as a co-anchor in July 2012, had stepped away from the morning broadcast in January 2025 after a 26-year career with the network.
According to Page Six, Kotb is slated to continue filling in for Guthrie next week, with NBC evaluating the situation on a week-to-week basis.
On Wednesday’s broadcast, Kotb visibly showed support for Guthrie by wearing a yellow ribbon and a floral pin on her lapel. She said viewers have been placing yellow flowers near Nancy’s home and across the city, and that the show had followed a viewer’s suggestion by decorating Studio 1A with yellow roses and wearing ribbons as a gesture of solidarity for Savannah and her family.
Co-anchor Craig Melvin offered a hopeful note, saying incidents like this are resolved regularly, although not always within a few weeks. He stressed that the TODAY family remains optimistic that Nancy will be brought home safely.
Carson Daly echoed those sentiments, reflecting that while television often packages events into an hour-long segment, this situation resonates more broadly. He described the tribute as a meaningful symbol for the many people following Nancy’s disappearance.
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