What a mean thing to say, “Today”!
After much speculation, ousted “Today” show host Ann Curry showed up for work yesterday — the day after word broke that she was being pushed off the show.
And in the middle of an interview with comedian Steve Carell, this was the graphic that popped up on the screen under her face:
“Here today, gone tomorrow.”
The line was an inadvertent reference to Carell’s new movie about the end of the world.
But it sure read as if it was referring to Curry and her predicament.
NBC officials were so unsure whether she would show up yesterday they reportedly had Hoda Kotb, host of the fourth hour of “Today,” standing in the wings ready to go on early yesterday.
The talk around the show has turned to who will replace Curry.
Junior anchor Savannah Guthrie, news reader Natalie Morales and Kotb are the most often mentioned.
But it seems that, during the talks to move Curry out of the anchor chair, NBC called Meredith Vieira — Curry’s predecessor — to see if she wanted to come back, according to reports.
But apparently, Vieira — who was incredibly popular with the staff of the show and host Matt Lauer’s favorite co-host — said no.
NBC reportedly made its pitch two weeks ago, according to TMZ.com.
Vieira, host of the daytime game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” still has ties to NBC even after leaving “Today.”
She’s a correspondent for “Rock Center With Brian Williams” and has signed to work as a correspondent for NBC’s Olympic coverage which begins in late July.
So far, there does not appear to be any effort by NBC to go outside the network to find a replacement.
The “Today” show had been far and away the No. 1 morning show until the last year when, after Curry came on, the show began steadily to lose ground in the ratings to ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Curry, who has always said she preferred hard news reporting, never seemed to feel comfortable with the pop culture elements of morning TV, celebrity interviews and cooking segments.
And despite being on the same show for 14 years with Lauer, she and Matt never seemed to click on air.
NBC brass blamed Curry for losing several crucial weeks in the ratings — for the first time in more than 16 years — and decided to move her out before the Olympics, which will be broadcast on NBC’s networks.
If, as planned, the show announces a new partner for Lauer by next week, the show will have a new cast in place when the Games begin.