Craig Melvin Jokes Cohost Savannah Guthrie ‘Decided to Bail’ Amid Her ‘Today’ Absence

It’s Craig Melvin’s first week as Hoda Kotb’s replacement on Today but his cohost Savannah Guthrie was forced to miss an episode of the show.

During the Thursday, January 16, broadcast, Savannah, 53, was missing from the news desk. Instead, it was Weekend Today’s Laura Jarrett sitting in Savannah’s spot at the panel.

“Welcome to Today, so glad you’re with us on this busy Thursday morning,” Craig, 45, told viewers who were tuning in to watch the show. “Laura Jarrett is in, Savannah’s a little under the weather.”

Craig decided to crack a joke about Savannah’s absence from the talk show.

“I know what you’re thinking, that after three days of Craig she decided to bail,” he quipped.

“I wasn’t going to say it … But it’s nice to be with you,” Laura, 41, replied.

Craig took the reigns on the broadcast like the total pro that he is, launching into the biggest headlines of the morning in Savannah’s absence.

Her day off from the program came just hours after Savannah and Craig appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, January 15. They had a blast discussing their new onset dynamic on Today.

“This is the Craig Era,” Savannah told host Jimmy Fallon during the late-night TV appearance. “We’re in our Craig Era.”

Craig’s first day as Savannah’s coanchor was Monday, January 13. He’s been knocking it out of the park each morning since. He did admit he was a bit “nervous” to step into Hoda’s shoes.

“The show is a beloved national institution that has been around for about 73 years,” the South Carolina native told People in an interview published on Wednesday. “No one wants to be the person who’s at the helm of the ship when the ship finds ice.”

“I’m anxious but at the same time, it’s the first time I’ve been this excited about anything outside the day I got married and the birth of my two children,” Craig said. “I am beyond stoked.”

Savannah revealed that she is keeping in close contact with Hoda amid the show’s new transition period with Craig by her side.

“I’m maybe talking to Hoda more than ever,” Savannah revealed. “We talked every single day. She actually got up earlier than me on Monday. Hoda wakes up at 3 a.m. on Saturday. We FaceTime with her.”

It seems like Hoda has been enjoying her time away from Today so far. The former cohost shared photos after bringing her children, Haley and Hope, to school in the mornings on two separate occasions since leaving the show.

But Hoda already has her sights set on launching her next project.

“I am starting a wellness app and company that will involve retreats and a podcast and all kinds of things that we can get together, do things that I love,” she said during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

“I kind of got hooked in the wellness space, like a couple of years ago. I started doing stuff that I thought seemed woo woo and weird, and then all of a sudden as I was doing it, I was like, ‘Wait, I feel calmer, I feel better,'” the mom of two shared.