With Hoda Kotb set to take her leave from Today early on the 2025 TV schedule, this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade featured one big “last” for her and the rest of NBC’s crew. The fact that it was her final time covering the parade wasn’t lost on Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, who joined Kotb, Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie for a segment to promote her movie. The actress paid tribute to the long-time morning show host, and I am so touched by her sweet gesture.
The parade route may have been rainy — in a way reflecting the mood of Hoda Kotb’s fans after she announced her impending exit — but you’d never know it looking at the NBC stalwart’s infectious smile as she co-hosted the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside several of her Today show colleagues. They welcomed Cynthia Erivo to talk about Wicked’s box office-topping performance, but before getting into the movie, Erivo insisted on paying tribute to Kotb, saying:
Before you even begin, these flowers are for you because I know that this is the last Thanksgiving parade you’re doing. I wanted to celebrate that and I wanted to say we love you. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done all of these years.
Cynthia Erivo handed Hoda Kotb a large bouquet of white flowers, causing the host to become emotional, as they each said they loved each other “to the moon and back.” It was such a sweet moment between the two, and you can see how excited Kotb still was when they posed for the photo below:
Guests who are interviewed by the Today anchors are certainly not expected to come bearing gifts, and the purpose of this interview was to celebrate Cynthia Erivo and inspire more people to see her and Ariana Grande’s film. It was so generous of her to use part of her time to turn the spotlight on Hoda Kotb, and I admire Erivo even more now for that lovely moment.
Hoda Kotb has said that after her Today exit she’ll still remain at NBC in some capacity, but it doesn’t seem like the Macy’s parade will amongst her responsibilities going forward. That does make sense, given her motivation to spend more time with her daughters. I’m sure Kotb wants to be with them on future holidays and not broadcasting from the cold streets of New York City.
Perhaps next November we’ll see Craig Melvin taking over that seat as well, as he’s been chosen to replace Hoda Kotb on Today’s first hour, co-hosting with Savannah Guthrie. He’s reportedly getting a pretty good pay bump for his new gig, and while he will also remain on the NBC morning show’s third hour, he will not be joining Jenna Bush Hager in the fourth hour. That segment will be rebranded as Jenna & Friends and see a rotation of second hosts.
Those big changes are coming soon, but not to worry — we’ve still got Hoda Kotb for the whole month of December. Her final day is Friday, January 10, with Craig Melvin set to take over Monday, January 13. Tune in to NBC to see the transition, and also be sure to catch Cynthia Erivo in Wicked, which is in theaters now.