The Today Show may be consistent in that they have been on the air every morning since its inception in 1952, but they are not afraid to switch things up!
The beloved NBC morning talk show is always keeping their loyal fans and viewers on their toes, from transforming the set to transforming their very own hosts, plus every now and then, when one or more of the longtime hosts have to be away either on assignment or with family, the network makes sure their roles are covered with a great replacement.
Such was the case on the Thursday, June 1 installment of the show, which had not one but two mainstay hosts away from the news desk.
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Over on the 3rd Hour segment, which is typically hosted by Al Roker, Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer and airs at 9am EST, Dylan was absent from her usual spot, while Sheinelle had returned after spending a couple days away from the studios as well.
Dylan – who is a mom to sons Calvin, six, Oliver, two, and Russell, or Rusty, one – had previously shared on her Instagram Wednesday that she was off on a "mini vacation" with her husband of over ten years, Brian Fichera. She shared a selfie of the two looking happy as can be, enjoying "pre-noon drinks" from "Brian's favorite place," the Delta Sky Lounge.
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Later on in the following Today program, 4th Hour with Hoda & Jenna, hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager weekdays at 10am, Jenna was also absent from the news desk. She shared on Instagram later in the day that she was in Key West, Florida, where she met up with her "hero," best-selling author Judy Blume.
While no one came in to replace Dylan on 3rd Hour, leaving it to just three hosts, Hoda was accompanied by none other than Community actor Joel McHale as temporary co-host of the day.
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While the actor is loved for his role as Jeff Winger in the NBC sitcom Community, which ran from 2009 to 2015, with his appearance on Today, he is going back to his television hosting roots, which is how he kicked off his career in entertainment back in the early 2000s.
Starting in 2004, he hosted comedy talk show The Soup, a revamped version of Talk Soup, for over ten years until 2015. The show aired on E! News and recapped various pop-culture plus film and television moments with sarcastic and satirical commentary from Joel.
It was canceled by the network in 2015 after 12 seasons, with the last episode airing on December 18 of the same year. It returned with a 13th season in February of 2020 with new host Jade Catta-Preta, but was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and it last aired in October of the same year.
In 2018, Joel launched a quasi-successor of the show as The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale on Netflix, though it only aired for one season.
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