Awards-season buzz swept through NBC’s “Today” studio on Tuesday, July 14, and it prompted a good-natured double take from anchor Savannah Guthrie. When co-host Carson Daly revealed a fresh round of Daytime Emmy nominations for the show’s sibling hours, Guthrie’s first reaction was a laughing lament that she and her main-hour desk had been left out — before a quick correction set the record straight.
Daly kicked things off warmly, telling viewers he wanted to flag “a little something to celebrate this morning,” then explaining that the Daytime Emmy nominations had arrived and that the 3rd Hour of “Today” and “Today With Jenna & Friends” were both up for Best Daytime Talk Show. Co-host Jenna Bush Hager cheerfully noted the two “Today” spinoffs would be going head to head in the same category.
Guthrie then responded with a laugh, saying it seemed everyone present had received a nomination except for her group. The joke didn’t last long. Meteorologist Al Roker quickly corrected her, pointing out that she, Daly and anchor Craig Melvin had all been nominated in the news category for their contributions. Different competition, same congratulations.
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 Morning Show in 2020. So while the on-air moment played as friendly ribbing, the recognition itself is well-worn territory for her.
Guthrie, 54, 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 — but by her own account, this year has been the toughest of her career.
The Weight Behind the Laughter
The backdrop to that easygoing Emmy exchange is anything but light. Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, earlier this year. Nancy, believed to have been 83 at the time, is thought to have disappeared from her residence during the very early morning of Feb. 1, shortly after she was dropped off by Guthrie’s sister, Annie Guthrie, and Annie’s husband, Tommaso. Nancy was first reported missing after she failed to attend a virtual church service on Feb. 1.
Guthrie and her siblings, including her brother, Camron Guthrie, have made repeated public pleas for information, even offering a $1 million reward. 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 five months. 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."
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 to search for her mother. 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.” More recently, 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.
Finding a ‘Little Respite’ at Work
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,” featuring Bush Hager and co-host Sheinelle Jones — on Monday, June 8, which happened to fall on National Best Friends Day. Getting emotional beside Bush Hager, Guthrie said she couldn’t look at her every day without crying, and admitted she’d been reluctant to guest co-host despite their closeness.
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.
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.