Rumors Swirling Around The Today Show Cast We Can't Ignore

NBC's "Today" show prides itself on being "America's first-ever morning show," making its inaugural debut on January 14, 1952. And due to the show's long tenure and stability, it still reigns supreme with advertisers, only coming in second to ABC's "Good Morning America." During an interview with Variety in April, one advertiser praised "Today" for being "a trusted source for news in a culture where there is a lot of distrust right now." 

Alas, the popular morning show has also developed a reputation for having a revolving door of cast members with some of the biggest scandals ever and a laundry list of incessant rumors swirling around them at all times. Enter: the shady side of the "Today" show. We're talking whispers and murmurings of which cast members are feuding, who is scared about losing their job, who's vying for another shot behind the desk, and who may or may not already have one foot out the door. Long gone are the days when the "Today" co-anchors were simply there to report the morning news — now they are the news. Let's discuss, shall we?!

While discussing all of the rumors swirling around the "Today" show, we would be absolutely remiss not to address the elephant in the room that is famous former "Today" co-anchor and co-host Hoda Kotb filling in for both Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin. As you may recall, Kotb first filled in for Guthrie following the horrific disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, then for Melvin while he took spring break with his family. 

As you may recall, Kotb left the "Today" show in January 2025, citing a wish to spend more time with her two daughters, Haley and Hope. "Obviously I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have," she revealed on "Today" in September 2024, when she first announced she was leaving. "I feel like we only have a finite amount of time." 

In April 2026, however, fresh off the heels of subbing in for Guthrie and Melvin, Radar reported that Kotb was secretly vying to get her old job back. "Being back on set hit her hard," a source told the celebrity gossip and entertainment news site. "She realized how much she misses it. She'd absolutely go back if the door opened." Unfortunately for Kotb, however, it appears that ship has sailed. "The show has moved forward without her," the source said. 

Unfortunately, it's also rumored that Hoda Kotb's temporary return left Craig Melvin feeling some type of way, too. On April 10, 2026, celebrity gossip blogger Rob Shuter reported on his Naughty But Nice Substack that a source claimed Melvin was already "second-guessing" his choice to take spring break before the trip had even started. "This is not the moment you want to leave your seat," the source told Shuter. "All eyes are on the ratings right now," the source added. "If the numbers go up while he's gone? That's not just awkward — it's dangerous."

The story goes that Melvin took Kotb's chair as co-anchor after she left the show, and at the time, the passing of the baton seemed amicable. "He is the natural perfect person. I told him, 'There's nothing to be worried about. You have all the things that you need,'" Kotb told People in January 2025. But now it appears things are looking a little less friendly. "If Hoda decides she wants her old job back, Craig won't stand a chance. He'll be elbowed out," the source told Shuter. Ruh-roh.

Sadly, it's rumored that Savannah Guthrie's dramatic return to the "Today" show on April 6, 2026, following the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was anything but warm and fuzzy. On April 20, during an appearance on "The Megyn Kelly Show," celebrity gossip columnist Rob Shuter said that the bigwigs at NBC were less than impressed by the lackluster ratings for Guthrie's return. "I'm hearing from people inside the building that there was a little bit of an opportunity here for the network to increase their ratings and to get people really behind the 'Today' show, which really is neck and neck with 'Good Morning America,'" Shuter claimed. Suffice to say, the ratings weren't exactly a slam dunk. "The Savannah moment didn't quite turn out to be what they wanted it, what they hoped, what they expected it to be," Shuter divulged.

But that's not all. It's also reported that some of Guthrie's co-stars didn't exactly climb aboard Guthrie's welcome wagon. During an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail in March, ahead of Guthrie's return, an insider even likened the environment on the "Today" show to that of "The Morning Show" on Apple TV. "These people will steal your chair while you're still sitting in it," the source told the British tabloid. "From the hair and makeup people to the producers, you can't trust anyone, they all talk," the source added. Meanwhile, another claimed that Guthrie would be getting no special treatment, even amid the excruciating grief over her elderly mother. "It's a viper's nest. Even if you're suffering."

Speaking of Savannah Guthrie, it's long been rumored that her relationship with Hoda Kotb is something more akin to that of a frenemy type of situation than a true friendship rooted in a genuine love and affection for one another. In 2022, an insider told The U.S. Sun that Guthrie and Kotb were actually in the midst of serious feud and "[couldn't] stand each other." The source added, "[Guthrie] thinks of herself as a real news person," while Kotb is known for being "the lightweight that drank wine with Kathy Lee Gifford." 

And while Guthrie and Kotb appeared to be thick as thieves during Kotb's big interview with Guthrie following the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, it's rumored that Guthrie plans to leave all of that in the rearview. "This is Savannah and Craig's moment now," an insider reportedly told celeb gossip columnist Rob Shuter for his Naughty But Nice Substack ahead of her big day back on April 6, 2026. "Moving forward, they are the co-hosts. That's the team." And to that end, that intel was correct, as Kotb was notably missing in action on April 6. Very interesting ...