Savannah Guthrie

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Savannah Guthrie Sets 'Today' Return Amid Mother's Disappearance: "I'm Not Going to Be the Same"

Guthrie, who first joined the show for its third hour in 2011 (she had been NBC News’ chief legal analyst since 2008), has been off the air for more than two months, but never forgotten. She visited her work family twice — once for a lengthy sit-down interview with colleague and friend Hoda Kotb — but has been top of mind for much of America throughout the entire ordeal. How Guthrie will specifically handle her moment cannot yet be known, but those who know her (that The Hollywood Reporter spoke with) say it will surely be done with uncommon levels of grace and professionalism. That’s how Guthrie managed those previous tearful, temporary returns.

Near and far from the flagship Nintendo store next door, all eyes will be on NBC (and Peacock) on Monday starting at 7 a.m. ET. Many of those eyes, including some newer ones to the program, have tuned in regularly since Feb. 2, when Savannah first reported to Pima County instead of midtown Manhattan. During this stretch, Today, which for weeks dedicated two segments to the Guthrie case and family (before downsizing to one segment and then again to as-dictated-by news), has surpassed its chief rival Good Morning America in total viewers while expanding its edge in the key news demo of adults 25-54, according to Nielsen data. CBS Mornings is nowhere in sight.

Monday’s Today TV ratings could likely make GMA look like CBSM.

Through no fault of Guthrie’s, there will be a certain level of awkwardness or discomfort on Monday. But if anyone is naturally equipped to handle the toughest of transitions, it is Guthrie, Today‘s 7 a.m.-9 a.m. co-anchor (with Craig Melvin since January 2025) since 2012. Guthrie would not return to her day job if she could not handle the “job” part. As one source from a rival TV morning show put it to THR, Guthrie is “incredibly resilient.”

She also has incredible chops. As much as she may not want to be the story, Guthrie knows that she and family are, both still and also again given the lead-up to the return, which was first announced March 27. It is a Band-aid that has to come off, even if the wound is still fresh. Today will let Guthrie, who is 54, set the tone. Savannah is expected to taper her own story out of the teleprompter as the week goes on and return to some semblance of normalcy — whatever “normalcy” is in such uncharted waters. If and when new information in the case comes to light, Today will walk that tightrope with its star.

Morning shows tend to follow a general format. The hardest news tends opens the show — so maybe Monday’s Today opens on Iran; then perhaps the partial government shutdown. As the 7 o’clock hour dwindles, so does the seriousness of the news, generally. Perhaps a true crime story carries viewers to 8 a.m., when the lighter fare is often cued up. Considering a typical rundown, in our guessing-example, it’s a good bet Guthrie will address the elephant in the room in the mid-to-late 7 a.m. hour, albeit probably with at least a general acknowledgment of her return to open.

The 74-year-old NBC instituion has weathered very public in-house situations before. The first that comes to mind is, of course, one of an anchor’s own doing — and his ultimate undoing. In 2017, Matt Lauer was fired from the NBC News show over a “detailed complaint” about “inappropriate sexual behavior.” It was Guthrie who read the news on TV. It was not an easy assignment, but it’s the job.

It is not yet clear how the competing morni

Savannah Guthrie's Today Return: Highly Unusual, Business as Usual