The TODAY co-anchor chair left vacant yesterday by the abrupt departure of Ann Curry was filled on Friday by Savannah Guthrie.
Sitting next to Matt Lauer when the show aired this morning on NBC was Curry’s replacement. She got no fanfare nor was there any acknowledgement as the duo went about the business of hosting the morning show.
Lauer is on vacation next week so the network wanted to get Guthrie in place sooner rather than later. NBC will launch a big splash on July 9 when TODAY welcomes Savannah officially to her new post.
NBC opted not to hype the change when Guthrie joined Lauer on Friday, presumably because Curry’s fan base is still reeling from her sudden unheralded exit after 15 years on the show.
Ann’s teary farewell was painful and stilted, with the veteran newswoman actually apologizing: “For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball across the finish line, I did try.”
The network filmed a test promo a few days ago that ended up on YouTube. Check it out below:
Photos: NBC-TODAY