Savannah Guthrie returned as co-host of the "Today" show on NBC on Monday, April 6, after more than two months away due to the still-unsolved disappearance of her mother, Nancy. "Good morning, welcome to 'Today' on this Monday morning, we are so glad you started your week with us," Guthrie, seated...
Savannah Guthrie returned as co-host of the "
Today" show on NBC on Monday, April 6, after more than two months away due to the still-unsolved disappearance of her mother, Nancy. "
Good morning, welcome to 'Today' on this Monday morning, we are so glad you started your week with us," Guthrie, seated beside co-host Craig Melvin, said to begin the show. ”
And it is good to be home." It was good to see her in what, for millions of viewers for years every morning, does seem like her home. Or did.
It also felt a little disconcerting. Since Jan. 31, the last time 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was seen, we have seen Savannah in a different light, a different context. The circumstances could not have been more harrowing.
Investigators believe Nancy was taken from her home outside of Tucson early in the morning on Feb. 1. Despite rumors and gossip, there are no leads and no suspects.
In videos Guthrie and her family released, she was not the happy, game Guthrie of "
Today." It was a grief-stricken daughter clinging to the hope that her mother was still alive, asking for any shred of information. It was raw, not the polished production that the "
Today" show is. At first, it was unsettling. Over time, it became how we expected to see her.
How else is the child of a missing parent in a case that received worldwide attention supposed to look and behave? Savannah Guthrie's return was a welcome relief We see the hosts of TV morning shows in our homes every weekday. Because of the nature of the job ― reading hard news before pivoting to softer segments like movie-star interviews or cooking with celebrity chefs ― they seem more approachable, almost like extended family.
Yet we don't really know them at all, or at least only as much as they want us to know them. We see what they let us see, nothing more.
In Guthrie's case, after her mother's disappearance, it was different. We saw the real person behind the host. And it was heartbreaking. In an interview with colleague Hoda Kotb, Guthrie said that she believes it's possible her fame was the reason that someone took her mother. That interview was also when she announced that she would be returning Monday, saying, "
My joy will be my protest." So it was a relief to see her back at work on April 6. She wore a yellow dress, much like the yellow flowers outside Nancy's home; there was a yellow floral arrangement behind her. Melvin wore a yellow tie and ribbon. When, during the second hour, the cast, including Melvin and Al Roker, went outside to the "
Today" show plaza to greet the crowds, many of them wore yellow ribbons and yellow clothing. "
It's a special Monday morning for us and for this crowd, as well," Melvin said. "
Special because we're welcoming back our north star. SG, come on out here." With that, Guthrie, walking hand in hand with Jenna Bush Hager, her friend and colleague, came outside and greeted the crowd. Guthrie thanked the crowd outside the 'Today' show "
These signs are so beautiful," Guthrie said, her voice breaking. ”
You guys have been so beautiful. I've received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my family. We feel it. We feel your prayers, so thank you so much." Roker noted that it wasn't just today that crowds were in the plaza showing Guthrie support. They'd been out there every day. Then he offered her his handkerchief. Guthrie laughed and said, ”
This is such a nice pocket square," she said. "I don't want to slobber on it." It wasn't business as usual. But it was, at least, back to business, something that Guthrie made clear in that first segment at the top of the show, when she said, ”
Ready or not, let's do the news." And so she did, jumping in with an interview updating the latest developments with the war in Iran. Welcome back. Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com.
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