The main anchor of NBC’s “Today” thought she’d been passed over when co-host Carson Daly announced a new round of Daytime Emmy nominations on Tuesday, July 14 — but meteorologist Al Roker was quick to set the record straight.
Anchor Savannah Guthrie laughed and remarked that it appeared everyone in the studio had earned a nomination except for her group. Roker immediately corrected her, explaining that she, Daly and anchor Craig Melvin had all been recognized in the news category for their work. The distinction was simple: different competition, same congratulations.
Daly had opened the segment by telling viewers he wanted to highlight “a little something to celebrate this morning,” then noting that the Daytime Emmy nominations had been announced and that both the 3rd Hour of “Today” and “Today With Jenna & Friends” were up for Best Daytime Talk Show. Co-host Jenna Bush Hager pointed out cheerfully that the two “Today” spinoffs would be competing against each other in the same category.
The Weight Behind the Laughter
The playful moment came against a backdrop of profound personal crisis. Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, earlier this year. Nancy was last seen the night of Jan. 31, after her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni dropped her off at home from dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie’s; investigators believe she was taken in the early hours of Feb. 1, in what authorities have described as an abduction. Nancy was first reported missing after she failed to show up for a virtual church service on Feb. 1.
The FBI and the local Pima County Sheriff’s Department have joined forces on the investigation, which has seen multiple stops and starts across its more than five months. Guthrie and her siblings, including her brother, Camron Guthrie, have made repeated public pleas for information and are offering a $1 million reward. In a family statement released in late March, the Guthries urged the community to search their memories around the timelines of Jan. 31, the early morning hours of Feb. 1 and the late evening of Jan. 11. Hours after that appeal, Guthrie shared a hopeful message on social media, writing simply, “I believe. I believe.”
On July 1, speaking on her family’s behalf, she described the ordeal as five months of agony and unending trauma, thanking the people of Tucson and both law enforcement agencies for their work and closing with a plea to “bring her home.”
Finding a ‘Little Respite’ at Work
The strain has kept Guthrie away from the anchor desk for extended stretches. She took a leave of absence starting in early February and did not return until Monday, April 6, during which time she remained with her family in the search for her mother.
Guthrie has been candid about how difficult the return to television has been. In June, she appeared as a guest co-host on the fourth hour — now known as “Today With Jenna & Sheinelle,” on Monday, June 8, which happened to fall on National Best Friends Day, filling in for Sheinelle Jones. Getting emotional beside Bush Hager, Guthrie said she couldn’t sit across from her best friend in that setting “and not tell the truth about my life,” and admitted she’d been reluctant to guest co-host despite their closeness. More recently, on July 5, she stepped away again to be with family and friends, and was seen taking in the Norway vs. Brazil World Cup match alongside her husband, Mike Feldman, Melvin and his wife, Lindsay Czarniak.
She has described the morning show as a small respite from her grief, a place that brings her joy even as her mother’s case stays constantly on her mind. Guthrie said she cries on the way to work and on the way home, and credited her “Today” colleagues — her second family — as a big reason she felt able to come back at all. Her mother, she added, would have told her to keep going.
By her own account, this year has been the toughest of her career.
A Familiar Face at the Emmys
The mix-up may have drawn a chuckle, but Guthrie is no stranger to the trophy table. Over the years, she has picked up Emmy nominations and two wins. In 2008, she took home a News & Documentary Emmy for NBC News’ coverage of that year’s election. The “Today” team also earned a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series in 2020. So while the on-air moment played as friendly ribbing, the recognition itself is well-worn territory for her.
Guthrie has been with “Today” for 15 years, initially serving as a co-host of the 3rd Hour before being named co-anchor of the flagship morning news program in 2012. Across that stretch, she has covered no shortage of demanding stories. Seen in that light, Tuesday’s Emmy moment lands as something quietly meaningful: a burst of ordinary newsroom joy for an anchor navigating an extraordinary year. Guthrie may have joked about being overlooked, but the nominations — hers included — offered the “Today” family a reason to celebrate together, exactly the kind of togetherness she has leaned on most.
Two days later, on July 16, Guthrie told viewers she would be away from “Today” for several weeks to film NBC’s game show “Wordle” in Manchester, England. Production had been pushed back to accommodate her after her mother’s disappearance.
