Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie were replaced by fellow Today stars Laura Jarrett and Peter Alexander on Monday, as the pair enjoyed some time off to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with their families.
Laura and Peter are no strangers to the NBC audience, with the duo having co-hosted Saturday Today together since September 2023. Laura also works as NBC News’ senior legal correspondent, while Peter began working with the company in 2004 and served as a White House correspondent before joining Saturday Today in 2018.
Laura, 42, began her career as a lawyer before she grew disillusioned with the job and opted to try her hand at journalism. “I was a six-year law associate at my law firm, and starting to think about whether I wanted to try and make partner,” she told Today.com. “And I realized there was no path for me that I was going to enjoy long term.”
“I felt like if I didn’t jump before I had kids, I wasn’t going to have the courage to do it – and I didn’t want to get stuck,” she added. “I’ve always loved putting the puzzle pieces together and figuring out how to tell a complicated story in the most straightforward and compelling way as possible.”
The TV personality, who is the daughter of former President Barack Obama’s senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, shares a close friendship with her co-star, Peter. “He’s so decent and smart, and he’s a good listener,” she told the outlet. “His girls are a little bit older – so he can give me tips for what’s coming down the pike!”
While Laura shares James, six, and June, three, with her husband, Tony Balkissoon, Peter welcomed Ava in 2013 and Emma in 2015 with his wife, Alison Starling. NBC celebrated Peter’s 20th anniversary with the news outlet in August 2024 in a tribute to the veteran journalist, who has interviewed the likes of Fidel Castro and Donald Trump over the years.
© NBCThe father of two shared on the show that he loved working with his “closest friends” on Today and bringing the news to millions around the US. “It’s such a treat,” he said, adding that he was “excited to hopefully do another 20 [years].”
Learn more about Laura’s entry into the Today family below…
“What I learned the most is what it means to be a storyteller. I really feel like we have a higher responsibility doing this for a living,” Peter mused. “Being journalists, you have the trust of the audience, the trust of the people whose stories you’re telling. That’s something that I take so seriously.”
Savannah and Craig have been co-hosting Today since January 2025, after NBC veteran Hoda Kotb exited the show to spend more time with her young daughters. Savannah recently took time away from the show to undergo vocal cord surgery and revealed that she would return the week of January 19.
© Instagram“I have vocal nodules, and now I also have a polyp,” the anchor shared ahead of her procedure. “It’s not a big, big deal, but I am going to have a surgery real early in the new year and be off for a couple of weeks. So it’s my last day for a little while.”
© Art Streiber/NBCUniversal via Ge“This has been going on for years, honestly, so to have a solution [is a relief],” she added. On MLK Day, Savannah appeared to be enjoying time with her kids, Vale and Charley, as they hijacked her whiteboard that she used to communicate and began drawing on it.
“Kids are over the silent routine (and so am I),” she wrote in the caption. Meanwhile, Craig shared a poignant message on Instagram on the holiday, writing: “It’s easy for all of us to quote Dr. King today. Harder to live his courage, compassion, and conviction the rest of the year. Let’s effort choosing the harder thing.”
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