Today with Jenna & Friends finally has its first batch of celebrity guests. After Hoda Kotb announced her upcoming departure from TODAY, her fourth-hour co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, revealed that Today with Hoda & Jenna would be turned into Today with Jenna & Friends. There will be no permanent co-host, at least for now. Instead, the former First Daughter will have rotating hosts beginning Monday, Jan. 13.
Via PEOPLE, Bush Hager shared that Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria, and Keke Palmer would be Kotb’s first replacement. “It’s going to be our month of wonder women,” she said during Monday’s broadcast. “We love these women, we’ve said we love these women. I feel like Hoda helped me manifest this. Nobody will ever fill this chair, but the three of them sure can try.”
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Considering what Bush Hager said about “our month of wonder women,” it’s likely the remaining guest co-hosts for January will be women and it will be exciting to see who else will be stopping by. There will be rotating hosts until a permanent replacement is found, and already Today with Jenna & Friends is starting off strong. It will be hard to watch without Kotb, but there is always the possibility she could be popping by every once in a while.
As for Hoda Kotb’s permanent replacement on the main TODAY Show, frequent stand-in Craig Melvin will be taking over as co-anchor. Kotb had nothing but praise for her colleague, telling him on-air he is “made for this job. You are literally made for this job. You are that kind of good. You have all the things that this job needs. You’re the right person for it.” Speculation rose as to who would replace her once she announced her retirement and her replacements should make for some interesting conversations.
Meanwhile, viewers are saying goodbye to Kotb this week, with her final day being this Friday, Jan. 10. It’s already been an emotional couple of days, and it just shows how much of an impact Kotb has left on the anchors, crew, and viewers watching at home. In any case, fans will be able to look forward to seeing Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria, and Keke Palmer hosting next week, and there are endless possibilities as to who will join Jenna Bush Hager next.
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