Carson Daly Named Co-Anchor of NBC’s Saturday Today
Carson Daly is adding a new chair to his morning routine. NBC announced on Thursday that Daly, 53, will become co-anchor of Saturday Today, joining Laura Jarrett at the desk from this Saturday, 7 November.
The move was revealed on the weekday Today show, where host Savannah Guthrie announced Daly’s promotion. He will work alongside Jarrett, feature anchor Joe Fryer and meteorologist Angie Lassman on the Saturday morning programme, which airs on NBC.
“I’m thrilled to add ‘Saturday Today’ to my weekday morning schedule,” Daly said in a statement. “My kids asked if I’ll still make pancakes. I told them yes, but I’ll be making them for Laura, Joe and Angie instead.”
He added that he was “equal parts grateful and excited for this opportunity”.
A new Saturday morning team
Daly’s appointment fills the seat left by Peter Alexander, who departed NBC after 22 years to join MS NOW, the channel formerly known as MSNBC, after it separated from NBC. Alexander had been a long-serving anchor on the Saturday programme.
Libby Leist, executive vice president of Today and Lifestyle, welcomed the appointment. “Carson and Laura make a great team, and we can’t wait for this fresh new chapter of ‘Saturday Today,’” she said, as Extra reported.
The Saturday edition has long been a quieter sibling to the weekday show, but NBC is treating the change as a deliberate refresh. Jarrett, a former CNN correspondent who joined NBC in 2022, has anchored the programme alongside Fryer and Lassman, and Daly’s arrival gives the weekend team a familiar face from the weekday broadcast.
From TRL to the Today plaza
Daly’s television career stretches back more than a quarter of a century. He first became a household name hosting MTV’s Total Request Live, the afternoon countdown show he fronted for five years before leaving in 2003. The programme made him one of the most recognisable presenters of the music-video era, interviewing the biggest pop stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s at the height of their fame.
He joined NBC’s Today in 2013 as host of the Orange Room, the show’s digital and social media hub, and gradually became a fixture of the weekday broadcast. He now co-hosts the show’s fourth hour alongside Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer, and has become known for his lighter segments, celebrity interviews and the show’s popular music performances.
His move to the Saturday desk keeps him firmly inside the Today family while giving the weekend programme a presenter with deep roots in the brand.
A changing of the guard at NBC
The appointment comes during a period of change at NBC News. Alexander’s exit followed the separation of MS NOW from NBC, a split that has reshuffled several familiar faces across the two networks. TVShowsAce reported that Daly’s new role was announced on Thursday’s Today broadcast, with his first show as official co-anchor set for 7 November.
Daly’s promotion also arrives as he prepares to step back from another long-running role. He confirmed over the summer that the current season of The Voice will be his last after 15 years as host. Actress and singer Keke Palmer is set to replace him for season 31 in early 2027, while Daly remains host and executive producer of the singing competition in the meantime.
The timing means Daly is effectively trading one weekend commitment for another: the Saturday morning desk replaces the long evenings spent recording The Voice, a schedule that has kept him busy for a decade and a half.
What stays the same
For viewers, the change should feel familiar rather than disruptive. Daly will continue appearing on the weekday Today programme, so his Saturday role is an addition to his existing duties rather than a move away from the show that has been his television home for 13 years.
NBC has not announced any other changes to the Saturday Today line-up, and Jarrett, Fryer and Lassman all remain in their roles. The programme’s format — a mix of news, interviews, lifestyle segments and live music — is expected to continue, with Daly bringing his interview style and music background to the weekend edition.
The first test of the new team comes on Saturday, when Daly takes his seat beside Jarrett for the first time. For a presenter who has spent his career moving between music television, talent shows and morning news, it is another new stage — this time, on a Saturday morning.
