Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie has been dealing with an unimaginable tragedy following the kidnapping of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. Meanwhile, Today and the people who work there have rallied around to support her, including Hoda Kotb, who returned to fill in and cover her absence. However, now, there’s a looming question regarding the long-time anchor's future on the show once this is all over.
One might assume that once this terrible situation is all over, Savannah Guthrie would return to her job on Today. However, a source, identified only as a television executive, who spoke with Status (via The Daily Beast), indicated that they do not expect Guthrie, who had just returned to Today following surgery, to come back to the show, and don’t believe it’s something she’ll even consider. The source claimed…
There’s no way Savannah’s coming back. I can’t imagine she would even want to.
It’s not necessarily that surprising a statement. The kidnapping of her mother has clearly taken a lot out of Savannah Guthrie, based on what we’ve seen from her during this period. Guthrie and her siblings have released multiple videos on social media speaking directly to the kidnappers, asking for their mother’s safe return.
Returning to such a public role after all of this attention would certainly be difficult. The report also mentions rumors that Guthrie was considering leaving Today at the end of 2026 anyway. Although even if that were the case, whatever her post-Today plans might have been, they may also be reconsidered.
However, just because Savannah Guthrie may not want to return to Today doesn’t mean Today might not try to convince her to stay. The same television executive who doesn’t believe she will stay also believes she’s one of the most important people in morning TV and that the show won’t be the same without her. They continued…
If you could pick one person across the span of morning TV that a show would not want to lose, it would be Savannah. Savannah was always the glue on that show, and without that, this whole paradigm of our morning anchor team as a family, that connective tissue has just been ripped out.
While people may love to see Savannah Guthrie return, I have to imagine everybody will understand if she never does. The fact that more people are watching Today right now indicates that the audience cares about what happens to the Guthrie family. They might want to see the anchor again, and things get back to "normal," but that might not be possible.
Certainly, whatever Savannah Guthrie’s TV future will be isn’t anything anybody is truly thinking about right now. The focus is on finding Nancy Guthrie, and once that’s done, the rest can start to be considered.
