What To Know
- Despite stepping down from Today in January, Hoda Kotb will return to cohost the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker.
- Kotb left Today to spend more time with her daughters, marking her departure with an emotional farewell episode and tributes from colleagues and friends.
- Kotb has previously used secret signals to give her loved ones an on-air shout-out during the parade’s broadcast.
Hoda Kotb may have left Today in January, but she hasn’t completely left the NBC family.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade returns for its milestone 99th year on Thursday, November 25. While the event will feature a variety of new floats and high-flying balloons, the hosting lineup will consist several familiar faces.
Ten months after her Today exit, Kotb will reunite with her former colleagues Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker to host this year’s parade. Kotb made her parade hosting debut in November 2018 after replacing Matt Lauer as Guthrie’s Today coanchor earlier that year.
Kotb announced that she would be stepping down as a Today host in September 2024, citing her 60th birthday and wanting to spend more time with her two daughters — Haley, 8, and Hope, 6 — as the main reasons for her decision.
The NBC morning show threw a “Hoda-bration” in honor of her final episode on January 10, complete with special appearances from Kathie Lee Gifford, Gayle King, Jimmy Fallon, and more, many emotional moments, and a special episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna filmed in Late Night with Seth Meyers‘ Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Peter Kramer/NBC
“16 years ago, I sat next to Kathie Lee and she changed my life. She chose me,” Kotb read in a letter to Today fans on the January 10 episode of Hoda & Jenna. “And truth be told, I was scared. I’d never done anything like this before. … I ripped off that news corset, we poured ourselves a glass of wine, and so it began.”
She concluded the letter by stating, “I’ve become who I am on this hour of this show, and you were there with me every step of the way. So, as I sit here today in my final moments on this final day in this chapter of my career, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my very full heart for the ride of a lifetime. I love you.”
In years past, Kotb has used secret signals during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to give her loved ones a special on-air shout-out. “Last year, Hoda and I came up with this secret symbol, which was Hoda brushing her teeth with a finger,” Bush Hager explained on a November 2024 episode of Hoda & Jenna. Kotb added, “That was the indicator that I was thinking about Jenna.”
For that year’s signal, Kotb revealed she would sneak in a dance move she and Bush Hager do to Matt Rogers‘ holiday song “RockaFellaCenta.”
“So, whenever I see Jenna, I go like this,” Kotb said before showing off the dance, in which she quickly shakes her arms back and forth. Bush Hager described the move as her and Kotb’s “call sign.”
Kotb managed to do the move, as well as got Guthrie to do it, while introducing a cheerleading squad during last year’s parade. Bush Hager captured the moment and shared it via Instagram, writing, “So thankful for my most hilarious and LOYAL @hodakotb who always comes through! With assist by my dearest @savannahguthrie !!! That was a (not so!) secret dance move!”
The 99th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday, November 27, 8:30a/7:30c, NBC