'Hitting the road for a good reason': Here's why Hoda Kotb and Al Roker abandoned their anchor duties on 'Today Show'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The daytime production of NBC, ‘Today Show’ has been the go-to place for millions of Americans for getting their bits and news while prepping for office. The morning news segment of NBC’s daytime show is currently hosted by Hoda Kotb with Savannah Guthrie acting as the co-anchor while Al Roker sweeps in between with the weather forecast. In 2020, owing to ‘Today Show’s’ never-ending popularity, NBC launched 'Today All Day', a 24-hour digital streaming extension of their hit program through its website and Peacock, the OTT platform owned by Comcast.
The ‘Today Show’ is laden with many memorable moments over the years but recently viewers who were glued to their TV screens or online witnessed something unusual. As expected, Hoda was hosting the show with Savannah while Al was supposed to come in with the weather news in a while. However, that didn’t happen. In a small twist, Hoda disappeared during live streaming and Al was also nowhere to be seen. What happened?
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Where did Hoda Kotb and Al Roker go?
Hoda and Al have been the faces of ‘Today Show’ for a while. Taking them away from the morning screens of viewers who tune in just to see a few familiar faces, narrating the events of the day feels comfortable and safe to them. But during the Monday (May 8) broadcast of the show, the duo stepped away and Savannah had to step in while bringing anchors Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin on the desk for the rest of the show, with Dylan Dreyer taking over Al’s role as the weather man.
The viewers were confused after Savannah’s announcement but she cleared all doubts about Hoda and Al. “They're hitting the road for a good reason!” she explained to the viewers. The camera then suddenly panned to Hoda and Al who were outside a hospital and behind them was a huge group of nurses, cheering the anchors on. Al and Hoda have decided to hit the roads of New York to honor the healthcare professionals in the city owing to National Nurses Week. “We are going to show our appreciation for the nurses at a couple of area hospitals," Hoda said. Al wasn’t behind on the sentiment as he added, “In fact we're going to deliver big in-person thank yous to the hundreds of nurses who shine day in and day out.” Hoda and Al spoke to the nurses and shared stories of their struggles and the hardships of their jobs.
Hoda was emotional after greeting the nurses
Hoda had previously fought her battle with breast cancer which had resulted in a mastectomy. The 58-year-old anchor had previously stated in interviews how nurses took care of her in the hospital and so it was only natural for her to pay her respects during National Nurses Week. Craig Melvin who was in the studio joked, “Imagine you’re at work and you see Hoda Kotb and Al Roker show up.” However, there were hardly any jokes or chuckles in this otherwise emotional broadcast.