Craig Melvin is grateful for his new role on Today, but he admitted there’s one part of the job that seriously “stinks.” The TV personality opened up about his early wake-up time and getting used to his new schedule as Hoda Kotb’s replacement.

“I was like, ‘Are they forcing you out?’ She’s like, ‘No Craig, I’m OK. I’m leaving,’” he recalled. “I was legit stunned, so much so that after she left, I went back to her dressing room, and I was like, ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ It takes a certain kind of courage to leave anything when you’re at the height of your game.”

Craig Melvin was so shocked by the news of Hoda Kotb's Today show exit that he thought she was being 'forced out.'

New Today cohost Craig Melvin initially thought Hoda Kotb might be sick when she pulled him aside to tell him she was stepping down from the NBC morning show. "My dressing room is two over from hers,

Craig Melvin made his debut co-anchoring the 'Today' show with Savannah Guthrie on Monday, Jan. 13, after taking over the role from Hoda Kotb.

Were you surprised when NBC announced that Craig Melvin would succeed Hoda Kotb as a co-anchor on the Today show? It turns out we weren't the only ones shocked by the news — Craig was, too. In November 2024,

Hoda Kotb put her writing skills to good use before leaving TODAY by penning a letter to her successor. Ahead of Hoda’s last day on Jan. 10, she wrote a heartfelt poem to Craig Melvin for him to read as he takes over as co-anchor of TODAY alongside Savannah Guthrie on Jan. 13.

With Hoda Kotb officially out of the Today show, longtime viewers have turned their attention to Craig Melvin, the morning news show’s longtime personality who has taken over as Savannah Guthrie‘s new co-anchor.

Craig Melvin is stepping into a new role at Today after being part of the morning show family since 2018. After Hoda Kotb announced her departure from Today in September 2024, Melvin was named as the morning show’s new coanchor alongside Savannah Guthrie.

It’s the end of an era at Today after beloved host Hoda Kotb bid adieu to the morning show last week. But, as her former co-host Savannah Guthrie revealed in a recent interview, that doesn’t mean she left everything behind.