Lester Holt’s ‘NBC Nightly News’ Replacement’s Start Date Revealed

Tom Llamas will take over for Lester Holt as the longtime NBC Nightly News anchor sets the date for his final show as May 30.

Llamas’ NBC Nightly News debut is scheduled for Monday, June 2, reported Deadline Thursday, months after the Top Story journalist was first announced as Holt’s replacement in March.

“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity — all characteristics that have long been trademarks of NBC Nightly News,” NBC News executive vice president of programming Janelle Rodriguez wrote in a message to staff at the time. “Additionally, he’s been instrumental in growing NBC News NOW into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.”

Llamas called anchoring Nightly News a “profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility” in a similar statement. “I look forward to working with the world class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night.”

Llamas, who will be the first Latino journalist to host the weeknight edition of Nightly News, continued, “Lester Holt is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time. Just like Lester, I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth.”

Holt announced in February that he would be stepping down from his role after a decade at Nightly News. He will continue in his role as a full-time anchor on Dateline. Llamas will continue to anchor Top Story and will also serve as managing editor of Nightly News, as did his predecessor.

“After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News,” Holt said in a memo announcing his exit. “It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to work with each of you every day, keeping journalism as our true north and our viewers at the center of everything we do.”

Looking back on his storied career, Holt continued, “A smile comes to my face when I think that with Nightly News, and Dateline, I have now anchored two of the most successful and iconic television news programs in broadcast history.” He noted, “As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has. What an amazing ride.”