Carson Daly Named Permanent Saturday Today Co-Anchor as NBC Expands His Role

Carson Daly is now the permanent co-anchor of NBC’s Saturday Today, making his official debut in the role on Saturday 7 November 2026 alongside Laura Jarrett. NBC announced the appointment on Thursday 5 November, ending a two-month search for a permanent successor to Peter Alexander and giving Daly a sixth day a week on the network’s flagship morning show.

Daly, 53, had been filling in as interim co-anchor since September, and the trial run convinced NBC to make the move permanent. He keeps his weekday role on Today, which he has held since 2013, and continues to host and executive-produce The Voice. The promotion makes him one of the busiest presenters in American morning television — and, by his own account, one of the happiest.

A Saturday debut thirteen years in the making

Daly joined Today in 2013 as host of the Orange Room, the show’s social-media hub, after a decade as the face of MTV’s Total Request Live. Over thirteen years he became one of the programme’s most familiar figures, moving from digital segments into the main hosting team while building a parallel career on The Voice.

The Saturday chair opened when Peter Alexander left the programme in March 2026 and later departed NBC News after more than 20 years to join MS NOW. Daly stepped in as interim co-anchor in September, working four consecutive Saturdays with Jarrett before NBC decided the pairing worked. “I’m thrilled to add Saturday Today to my weekday morning schedule,” Daly said when the appointment was confirmed.

He told USA TODAY that he had asked for the chance himself. “I actually asked if they needed somebody to fill in on Saturdays, or even on holidays, because it would be a chance for me to sit in an anchor chair and flex that muscle, which I don’t get to do a lot,” he said. “I thought that it would just be another way that I can become a better broadcaster.”

How the vacancy opened up — and why Daly got the chair

NBC’s decision followed weeks of on-air chemistry between Daly and Jarrett, who both describe the partnership as an easy fit. “He’s so humble,” Jarrett, 43, said in the USA TODAY interview. “He’s Carson Daly. He can do whatever he wants. That’s why everyone’s so excited about this, because it’s just more of what you already want.”

Daly said the choice became obvious once the trial run was under way. “It became this really obvious: ‘Should we do this?’” he said, adding that he and Jarrett “really hit it off” and that making the role permanent was a “no-brainer”. Adweek reported the appointment as the end of a two-month search, with Daly joining a settled weekend team of Jarrett, Fryer and Lassman.

The move also settles a question that had followed Daly for months. He has confirmed that the current season of The Voice is his last as host, and reports say Keke Palmer will take over for season 31 in early 2027. The Saturday Today promotion makes clear that NBC is keeping him at the centre of its morning output even as his singing-competition run ends.

Six days a week — and still The Voice

Daly’s new schedule is formidable. Alongside the weekday Today broadcasts and the Saturday edition, he hosts season 30 of The Voice and serves as executive producer on the show and its spinoff, The Voice: Celebrity. He is not, by his own admission, the kind of presenter who sits still.

“I’m the type of person who’s always looking to evolve,” he told USA TODAY. “I walk into 30 Rock every day and feel lucky to be here. It’s never lost on me.” He added that he is proud of himself for not “resting on my laurels and just phoning it in” at this stage of his career, calling the Saturday role a “new chapter” that is “really thrilling at my age and at my stage in my career.”

The workload lands in a week when American television has been full of comebacks and curtain calls. Salma Hayek’s WIF Honors night put advocacy at the centre of a Hollywood gala, while James Blunt’s new album Airplane Mode showed how a single release can dominate a news cycle. Daly’s promotion belongs to the same pattern: a familiar face finding a new stage rather than stepping away from the old one.

Family first: pancakes, teenagers and a two-hour show

The first question Daly’s children asked about the new job was a practical one. “My kids asked if I’ll still make pancakes,” he joked when the appointment was announced. “I told them yes, but I’ll be making them for Laura, Joe and Angie instead.”

Behind the joke sits a real logistical calculation. Daly and his wife Siri have four children: Jackson, 17, who is in his final year of high school and looking at colleges; Etta, 14; London, 12; and Goldie, 6. Daly told USA TODAY that his family was “all very supportive” and that his wife “has been incredible”, adding that the Saturday show runs for no more than two hours, so he will be home again quickly. “It’s just me getting out of my house for two hours, and then I’ll go right back to my cargo shorts and flip flops,” he said.

He also framed the extra day as a lesson for his children. “Leading by example is a huge parenting tactic,” he said. “I figure if I just do me in my professional moment, hopefully my kids will see that I’m not afraid to take another job or another challenge, not afraid to mess up, not afraid to get back in there.”

Why the Today family is celebrating a good reason

The announcement was deliberately staged as a moment of celebration. Savannah Guthrie revealed the news live on Thursday’s show, sent Daly a congratulatory gift and message, and the whole Today team gathered to mark it. Craig Melvin was the first colleague to call, talking for ten minutes about how proud he was, while Jenna Bush Hager texted throughout Daly’s audition period and Willie Geist greeted the news with delight.

Daly said the mood mattered because the Today family has been through a difficult year, gathering together far more often for sad reasons than happy ones. “It’s so nice for us all to be together for a good reason,” he said. “You’ve got to celebrate the victories.”

He has also been open about the personal cost of a six-day week, and about the condition that shapes how he handles it. Daly has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder, and told USA TODAY that taking on more work, paradoxically, helps. “What actually helps me is talking about it,” he said. “My new responsibility on Saturday mornings is to be honest on the air. I’m not afraid of what people think of me.”

That honesty is now part of the Saturday Today offer. Viewers who know Daly from the weekday show will get the same presenter on Saturdays: warm, self-deprecating, and willing to say when he is nervous. For NBC, that is the point of the appointment. The network did not hire a new face for its weekend mornings. It gave its most familiar one another day.

Frequently asked questions

What is Carson Daly’s new role?

Carson Daly is the permanent co-anchor of NBC’s Saturday Today, alongside Laura Jarrett. He made his official debut in the role on Saturday 7 November 2026.

Who did Carson Daly replace on Saturday Today?

He replaces Peter Alexander, who left the programme in March 2026 after more than 20 years at NBC and later joined MS NOW. Daly had been filling in as interim co-anchor since September 2026.

How many days a week does Carson Daly work now?

Six. He continues his weekday role on Today, which he has held since 2013, and adds the Saturday edition, while also hosting and executive-producing The Voice.

Is Carson Daly leaving The Voice?

He has confirmed the current season of The Voice is his last as host. Reports say Keke Palmer will take over for season 31 in early 2027, while Daly remains an executive producer on The Voice: Celebrity.

Who else is on the Saturday Today team?

Laura Jarrett co-anchors, Joe Fryer is feature anchor and Angie Lassman is meteorologist. Savannah Guthrie announced Daly’s appointment on Thursday 5 November 2026.

Myth-busting

Myth: Carson Daly is leaving Today for the Saturday show. He is not. The Saturday role is an addition to his weekday job, taking him to six days a week at NBC, not a move away from the programme he joined in 2013.

Myth: Daly was hired from outside to replace Peter Alexander. He was not. He had already been filling in as interim co-anchor since September 2026, and NBC made the arrangement permanent after four consecutive Saturdays on air with Laura Jarrett.

Myth: the new job means Daly has quit The Voice. He has not quit the franchise. He continues to host the current season and executive-produces The Voice and The Voice: Celebrity, though he has said the current season is his last as host.