Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer to leave NBC's Today Show

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Meredith Vieira leaving 'Today': Report
by Kate Ward


According to a Hollywood Reporter report, Today co-host Meredith Vieira is leaving the morning talk show in June, almost three months before her contract expires. (NBC is not commenting on the report; Vieira’s reps have not returned EW’s requests for comment. The report says an official announcement will come “as early as next week.”) Vieira replaced Katie Couric as Today host back in 2006, and helped the show continue its reign as TV’s top-rated morning program.

(This news comes the same week that Couric announced she would be stepping down from CBS Evening News, the gig she left Today for.) A departure, however, is not entirely unexpected — Vieira was rumored to be considering a leave earlier this month.

As for Vieira’s reported replacement? Current Today newsreader Ann Curry, with correspondent Natalie Morales filling Curry’s current shoes. Vieira, who still hosts Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, is supposedly leaving Today for largely personal reasons. (Her husband, Richard Cohen, suffers from multiple sclerosis.)

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Is Matt Lauer leaving the 'Today' show too?
Melissa Maerz
Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2011


By 2012, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira will both have departed the "Today" show, leaving no big stars on NBC's No. 1-rated morning show, according to reports from Entertainment Tonight and TV Guide on Wednesday. Lauer reportedly plans to resign when his contract expires in December 2012, while Vieira's contract could free her in September of this year.(NBC did not respond to requests for comment.)

The timing of this news is interesting, since Lauer's former "Today" co-anchor Katie Couric is also said to be preparing her exit from "CBS Evening News" later this year and has been in discussions with various networks, as well as former "Today" show producer Jeff Zucker. Some are already speculating that Lauer is considering reuniting with Couric and Zucker on a new project.

For several months, Vieira has been discussing extending her deal with NBC News, but TV Guide reports that she's getting tired of the early morning hours and wants to move on. She has said that she wants to focus on the health of her husband, who has battled multiple sclerosis and cancer, when making decisions about her future. Ann Curry, who once said she "would've loved" Vieira's job, is considered a leading candidate for her replacement.

Of course, all three anchors are currently in talks about their contracts, so if rumors happen to be circulating about their departure, it might work in their favor. For now, we'll just have to thank our lucky stars we've still got Al Roker. Right? ...Right?