Report: Inside NBC’s plan to welcome Savannah Guthrie back to Today

NBC is quietly preparing for Savannah Guthrie’s return to Today, with producers already discussing how her first morning back will unfold — including a symbolic moment outside on the plaza, Daily Mail has learned. But as those plans take shape, another question is quietly circulating inside the network: will Hoda Kotb be part of the broadcast that day? Hoda stepped in during Savannah’s absence and helped keep the show steady through the crisis of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. But with Savannah now back in the Big Apple, where she was seen visiting NBC co-workers last week, the big question is whether Hoda Kotb will be sitting beside her in the Today show hot seat upon her return.

Right now, NBC has no plans to have Kotb, 61, share the spotlight, the Daily Mail has learned. The focus is on Savannah. According to insiders, there has been talk of releasing yellow balloons from the square outside 1 Rockefeller Plaza as a gesture of support to honor Nancy and celebrate Savannah. ‘They want the moment to feel hopeful,’ one network source says. ‘Something simple that viewers on the plaza and at home will instantly understand.’ Since the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy from her Tucson home at the start of last month, tributes of yellow roses and balloons have been placed outside her home.

The octogenarian remains missing six weeks after she vanished, while the huge manhunt launched by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI has been scaled back. Despite the lack of progress in the case, NBC insiders say they intend to create ‘a hopeful moment’ with the yellow balloons while also being supportive of Guthrie who has released multiple tearful videos begging for her mom’s return. Kotb has remained supportive of the mom-of-two throughout the ordeal and was photographed hugging and kissing Guthrie on her return to New York last week. She has made no secret of the fact she wants to stay on at the breakfast TV juggernaut, despite quitting the show last year to spend more time with her two adopted daughters.

‘This isn’t just about feelings – it’s about protecting the franchise,’ an NBC insider exclusively told the Daily Mail. ‘Morning TV is a multimillion-dollar machine, and they need stability. Right now, that stability is Hoda. ‘And Hoda is absolutely ready to step back in full-time if asked. She never really left the building mentally.’ Production staffers too are wondering what Guthrie’s return might mean for them with some saying they fear the 54-year-old’s high standards. ‘You think The Morning Show is bad?’ a source told the Daily Mail, referring to the Apple TV drama series.

‘That’s nothing. These people will steal your chair while you’re still sitting in it. ‘From the hair and makeup people to the producers, you can’t trust anyone, they all talk.’ For now, Guthrie’s focus is still largely on her family. She has been left ‘devastated’ by her mother’s disappearance as well as by the circus that has ensued with influencers even caught snapping selfies outside Nancy’s $1 million Tucson home. ‘She’s praying for answers and instead her mother’s home has become a circus, said another source. ‘Right now that house feels like the scene of a crime, not a family home.

‘The idea of tearing it down has come up simply because the memories there are becoming unbearable.’ Guthrie’s appearance at the Today Show HQ was her first in nearly three months. Before her mother’s disappearance she had been off the air for a month while recovering from surgery to remove vocal cord nodules. ‘There’s real uncertainty about Savannah’s timeline,’ another insider explained. ‘No one knows when – or if – things return to normal.’